Asian Style Short Ribs

I didn't take a picture of this meal, but don't let that stop you from trying out this recipe! If you ask any of my family members, I haven't ever been known as a great chef, but my youngest sister-in-law informed me that I went to the top ranking after this meal. According to John Ash, it's hard to screw up short ribs, but its also hard to get them any tastier than this creation of his. I served this over rice and it was fantastic, but you can put it with noodles also. This recipe also calls for the short ribs to be in 2-inch sections, so don't leave your butcher until you get them cut smaller. I didn't and spent about an hour trying to cut through bone before I gave up and went back to the store to have them re-cut. Since short ribs have a ton of fat, it's a good idea to make them early in the day and let the juices sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours so the fat can congeal and be removed before making the gravy. If you aren't a big beef fan, you can also do this recipe with pork or lamb shoulder.

Recipe by John Ash

4 lbs beef short ribs with bones cut into 2-inch pieces.

salt & freshly ground black pepper

5 Tbsp of olive oil

1 Cup chopped carrots

1.5 C light or medium bodied red wine (I used 2 buck chuck from Trader Joe's)

4 C homemade beef or chicken stock or broth.

1/4 C rice vinegar

1 C soy sauce

3 Tbsp packed light brown or palm sugar

2 Tbsp chili-garlic sauce ( I used Hot & Spicy Chili Oil)

3 Tbsp finely grated orange zest

1 Tbsp Chinese five-spice Powder (I didn't have this so I used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 6 cloves & 6 peppercorns instead)

2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water to thicken.

I also added Chulula Hot Sauce to my recipe.

PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 375 F

Step 1: Season the ribs with S&P. In a heavy-bottomed dutch oven or casserole, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat. When hot, brown the ribs on all sides. Remove ribs, pour off any fat from the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. When hot, add the onions, ginger and carrots to the pot and saute until they are lightly browned (3-4 min.). Add the wine, stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, chili-garlic sauce, zest and 5 spice powder. When everything is simmering, return the ribs to the pot. Cover tightly and place in the over for 2.5-3 hours or until the meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone.

Step 2:

IF MAKING AHEAD: after the baking is finished tranfer the ribs from the pot to a storage container. Strain the liquid into a separate storage container (discarding solids) and refrigerate both for up to 3 days. At serving time you can easily removed the fat from the liquid. Boil the liquid uncovered until it is reduced by about a third (about 5 min). If you want a thicker, gravy-like sauce, lower the heat, stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer for another 3-4 min. Taste the sauce, season with salt and pepper if needed. At this point I didn't think it was spicy enough and added Chulula hot sauce. Tabasco would also work. Reheat the ribs in the finished sauce.

OR TO SERVE IMMEDIATELY: if you don't have time to refrigerate like I did, then when the meat is done cooking in the oven, remove them from the liquid and cover with foil to keep warm. Strain the liquid into a different pot or a bowl, discarding the solids. Let the liquid sit for a few minutes to allow some fat to rise to the top. Skim off as much as possible. Boil the liquid uncovered until it is reduced by about a third (about 5 min). If you want a thicker, gravy-like sauce, lower the heat, stir in the cornstarch mixture and simmer for another 3-4 min. Taste the sauce, season with salt and pepper if needed. I would also add the hot sauce.

This was seriously delicious. Jed made a Tofu and Spicy peanut sauce salad using half a John Ash recipe and half his own creativity, to go along with dinner. Dessert was a Lemon Zabaglione. Recipe to follow. All these recipes came from the John Ash: Cooking One on One cookbook. Slight alterations were made.