Place the lemongrass, garlic, fennel seed, ginger, shallot, ground pepper, garam masala, cayenne, five-spice powder, fish sauce and sugar in a big ceramic, glass or plastic bowl. Stir, then add in the chuck roast. Mix it all with your hands until every piece is coated. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a nonstick pan. Over medium heat, add the thin sliced onion and the diced jalapenos and sauté for about four minutes. Then move the onion and pepper mixture to the Instant Pot. (NOTE: Yes, the Instant Pot has a sauté feature, and sometimes we use it—but since you’re putting things into the sauté pan and then taking them out, using a separate pan just seemed easier.)
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Working in batches, brown the beef. We usually do this in three batches. Each piece should be nicely browned on all sides, not just the top and bottom; add more oil if needed. As the pieces brown, add them to the pot. Scrape all the little spice bits into the pot too. If any crust forms in the pan, deglaze it with a little stock or water and add that to the pot too.
Then pour in the beef stock, water, tomato paste, carrots and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Stir it all together. Add the bay leaf and gently set the star anise on top.
Seal up the pot and set it to 32 minutes.
At the end of the cycle, when you depressurize and open the pot, the beef and the carrots should be tender and ready to serve.
Serve with a nice crispy-crusted baguette and plenty of butter. We originally suggested having this with a crisp Muscadet or a cider. You may also like this with a beer—I currently am in love with Stillwater Extra Dry, a saison-style beer from Maryland, brewed with rice and evocative of sake. Or, don’t overthink it: we also love this simply with big glasses of iced water.
Finally, as with any stew-like dish, this tastes even better the next day.