Orange Ginger Beef Stew

Quite simply the most spectacular take on stew I've enjoyed in a while:

Olive oil, 3 lbs. stewing beef or more depending on how much meat you want (I personally buy a 2 lb. sirloin tip roast and cube), salt and pepper, 2 medium or 1 large onions peeled and chopped, 1 bag of small nugget potatoes - 2 cups (optional),  1 small stalk of ginger, peeled and can be kept whole, 2-4 cups of beef broth (I use beef broth paste to make broth), 2 cups of orange juice, 2 cups of orange marmalade, 1/8th cup of soy sauce, 1 rounded tbsp. of five spice powder, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, and a handful of cilantro leaves.  For garnish, sliced red pepper, more cilantro leaves to top and red pepper flakes if you like.

Preheat a large pot over a medium high heat and add olive oil so the pot is covered.  Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and sear on all sides.  Remove from the pot and put aside.  Then add onions and ginger and saute until nice and brown, but not too brown. Then add orange juice, soy sauce, marmalade, five spice, onions, cilantro leaves, beef, oh yes, and beef broth, additional salt and pepper, more garlic if you like too, and bring to a boil, and turn down to a simmer.  Finally get 1/2 cup of flour and put into a separate bowl.  Add 1/2 cup of the hot stew broth to the flour and whisk until it is smooth paste.  Then add another 1/4 cup at a time of the broth and continue stirring.  Then stream the flour/broth mixture into the stew and whisk like crazy so no lumps form.  Then add potatoes (optional) and simmer for 1 hour with a tight lid so beef gets nice and tender.  Stir often and take the lid off last 1/2 hour. Heavenly! Taste and season as you like and dunk hunks of bread into it to taste!  Serve over rice or just with the potatoes.