Combine soy sauce, 2 C water, cinnamon sticks, anise sticks, soup mix, sherry and sugar. Pour over the browned meat, cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove roast to serving platter, carve.
Remove 2 1/2 C of the cooking liquid to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl mix the corn starch with the remaining 1/2 c water until smooth with no lumps. Stir into the boiling liquid, simmer stirring until thickened. Pour over meat.
