Luo Song Tang (Shanghainese Borscht), slow-cooker + stovetop
Luo Song Tang, Shanghainese-Style Borscht ✨ Ahh I’m so excited to share this with you mainly because it holds so much nostalgia for me and I also think it’s been years since my mom has made this (I actually ended up bringing her some of the batches that I made!). I’m convinced my mom used to make this in her vintage 90s Crockpot slow cooker but she says she never did lmao – and if that’s true, she was missing out because it’s so easy! We also sometimes make this with oxtail instead when we’re feeling fancy.
The history of this dish is actually super interesting, in the early 1900s a large population of Russians settled in Shanghai and other parts of china. “luosong” is the transliteration of the word “Russian” in Shanghainese hence: Russian soup! Borscht was adapted for the local Shanghainese palate and also due to lack of beets in Shanghai, so tomatoes were used instead. “Luosong” is the Chinese transliteration of “Russian” and was called Russian soup by the locals. It was later brought to Hong Kong by immigrants.
I used (for ~3 servings, double for a bigger batch);
- 1 lb beef stew meat (some stew meat is thicker cut than other, evaluate whether you need to trim after boiling)
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered and cut into slices
- 1 medium carrot, cut via rolling cut (I don’t peel)
- 1 medium yellow potato, cubed
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedge
- ¼ head medium green cabbage, cut into thick strips
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups water
- 3 slices of ginger
- Shaoxing wine
- Salt
- Sugar
- Optional: toasted flour (dry-toast flour in a pan until golden-brown)
- Optional: macaroni
To make, slow cooker:
- Bring a pot of water to boil with slices of ginger and a heavy splash of shaoxing wine. Add in your meat and simmer for ~5-8 minutes covered. You should see the scum rise to the top
- Rinse beef under cold water to wash off the scum. At this point I’ll also cut some of the beef pieces in half if they’re looking a little thicc (I think 3/4 inch is a good size)
- Add all the ingredients, minus the salt and sugar and flour, to your crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours
- Mix in salt and sugar (I used ~1/2 tsp sugar) to taste, and the toasted flour if using
To make, stovetop:
- Bring a pot of water to boil with slices of ginger and a heavy splash of shaoxing wine. Add in your meat and simmer for ~5-8 minutes covered. You should see the scum rise to the top
- Rinse beef under cold water to wash off the scum. At this point I’ll also cut some of the beef pieces in half if they’re looking a little thicc (I think 3/4 inch is a good size)
- In a stockpot, heat up neutral oil over medium heat and saute onions with a pinch of salt until softened
- Then add in tomato paste and fry it with the onions until it starts to turn into a darker red
- Add in beef and coat well with tomato paste, deglaze with a little of shaoxing wine
- Layer in the rest of the ingredients and cover with water
- Bring to a boil then simmer for ~90 minutes
- Mix in salt and sugar (I used ~1/2 tsp sugar) to taste, and the toasted flour if using
- Feel free to also add in some pasta! Not traditional but something my mom would sometimes to do