Thread: Asian Style Braised Short Ribs

Mmmm...short ribs! I love them.




Recently, I purchased some grass-fed short ribs through a farm in Northern California and have been looking for just the right recipe to use them in. I found it in these Asian Short Ribs which are braised in the oven. These came out so tender with lots of delicious flavor.

(Recipe adapted from Blue-Kitchen dot com)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 to 4 lbs bone-in short ribs
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used duck fat)
6 scallions, cut into 2-inch sections (reserve the green tops of one)
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 cups water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
5 Whole Star Anise (Note: I substituted this with Chinese 5 Spice Powder--about 1 teaspoonful)

There are so many ingredients in this recipe that Mise en place is very important, otherwise, I'd be going nuts with all the prep work and cooking at the same time.



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trim any excess fat from short ribs, but no need to trim ALL the fat as the fat adds the flavor! Season generously with black pepper (but not salt). Heat a heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and brown short ribs on all the meaty sides for about 8 minutes total. Work in batches if necessary to avoid over-crowding in the pot. Transfer ribs to plate with tongs. Reduce heat to medium and add scallions, carrots, garlic, and ginger to pot. Cook, stirring frequently (note: you want to sweat the veggies, not brown them), for about 5 minutes.

Add orange juice, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes to dutch oven, stirring to combine. Scrape up any browned bits. Rterun short ribs to dutch oven, arranging in a single layer, if possible (don't worry about over-crowding at this point). The liquids won't completely cover the ribs and that's okay. Sprinkle the ribs with the Chinese 5 spice powder. Place parchment paper over ribs and braising mixture. Cover pot with lid and place in oven on middle rack. Braise until ribs are tender, about 2.5 hours, turning ribs once half-way thru cooking.

Serve the short ribs with white rice and top with scallion tops and sesame seeds, if you wish.

Ingredients

5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 (5-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved and smashed
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 quart water
1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Jasmine Rice, for serving
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, for serving
Sliced green onion tops, optional for garnish


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the lemon juice.

Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot or Dutch oven, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve hot over jasmine rice. Season each portion with the orange zest and garnish with the green onions if desired.