Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Cook Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Cook Time: 3 hours
Pans dirtied: 4
Ingredients
3 lbs beef short ribs (about 2 ribs per person)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Chinese Five Spice seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise pod
1 black cardamom pod
1 Tbsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole coriander seed
1 large onion, quartered (keep layers together)
3" piece of ginger, halved vertically (you can keep the peel on)
2 cups of water
2 tsp beef bouillon base
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 bay leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Season all sides of the short ribs with the kosher salt and five spice seasoning. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed dutch oven over high heat. Add the short ribs and brown each side, about 1 to 2 minutes per side, remove them from the pot once browned. You may have to do this in batches as you do not want to overcrowd the pan. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium-high heat, warm the cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pod, cloves, and coriander seeds until they smell toasty.
Carefully drain the oil from the dutch oven and return to the stove. Place the onion quarters and ginger in a single layer at the bottom of the pot and allow them to char on all sides. Reduce heat to medium, then add the water. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits. Add the beef bouillon and stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Return the short ribs to the pot with the toasted spices and the bay leaves. Cover the pot and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Halfway through, turn the ribs over using tongs and add more water if necessary.
When the ribs are done, transfer them onto a plate, keeping the meat on the bone, and set the plate aside. Strain the braising liquid into a large skillet. Place the skillet over high heat. Once the liquid starts to bubble, adjust the heat as needed to maintain a slow bubble, stirring it occasionally. Allow it to reduce into a glaze-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the short ribs, carefully spooning the glaze over top.
Serve immediately over rice or noodles with a side of steamed vegetables - baby bok choy and sliced mushrooms are a great choice. If you choose to go with the mushrooms, you may steam them along with the bok choy; however, I suggest adding the mushrooms to glaze as you sauce the ribs.
The Inspiration
Usually when I make braised short ribs, I've cooked them in some version of a red wine and tomato-based liquid. I just wasn't feeling that this time. So I perused my pantry for ideas. If you like to cook as much as I do, you may find yourself with a random assortment of spices that aren't used very often. Sometimes I like to challenge myself into finding new ways to use them so that they don't feel neglected. And apparently spices have a shelf life. So, out came the black cardamom pods, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and coriander seed!
If you are not familiar with some of these spices, think "pho". are part of the stock base of one of my favorite soups in the world. I figured they would give my braising liquid a wonderfully exotic flavor. Hmm. The liquid. Guess I need to change that up too. Vinegar and soy sauce are one of my favorite combinations to cook with, maybe because it's the base of another favorite meal of mine: Filipino Chicken Adobo. I didn't want my short ribs to taste too vinegar-y, so diluting it with beef broth seemed like a good idea. You could use canned beef broth, but I really like this stuff:
You can just mix this beef base with as much water that your recipe calls for, so you only use what you need and keep the jar in the fridge. No tomato or red wine in this braise!
Oh, and the charring of the aromatics? That's another cue from a good pho recipe. The depth of flavor you get from charring the onions and ginger are worth the extra step. (These photos show garlic cloves, which I quickly decided leaves more room for error - you actually don't want the garlic to burn. Therefore, the garlic did not make it into my final recipe.)
The rest of the method of searing and braising the short ribs are classic to most recipes.
Finally the glaze. Since I had gone through so many steps already, why not add another? It just takes the liquid to a whole new level.
And there you have it. The way my mind works.
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