Caoxian Braised Beef 曹县烧牛肉
Caoxian Braised Beef is featured among the local specialties of Shandong.
Caoxian Braised Beef (曹县烧牛肉) is a specialty of Cao County (曹县) in Heze (菏泽). Qilu News describes meat from one- to two-year-old yellow bulls raised in southwestern Shandong (山东), cooked with a spice mixture including star anise and baizhi (白芷).
Curing, boiling and frying
In Dazhong News’s 2014 report, Mi Xianjun (米宪军), a producer in Dongguan (东关), described his family’s method as curing, boiling and frying. He emphasized that heat control must respond to the ingredients and even the season. His great-grandfather began the family craft; Mi himself started selling the beef from a pushcart in 1985 before opening a small shop.
Tender meat that holds together
Qilu News describes the finished beef as tender and strongly aromatic, cooked through without falling apart. Its salty flavour is accompanied by a rich aroma without a greasy impression. The meat is also served as an accompaniment to alcohol.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.