Nothing says fall, like comfort food and short ribs are one of my favorite dishes to cook and eat. I wanted to get away from the standard tomato and red wine base. After researching various recipes, I decided to go with ingredients that suggest an Asian flavor. Loosely based on a recipe from Country Living, this is what I came up with and boy was it a hit! Once again, to my surprise, Beep shared that he may like this version better than the original. I also loved the cut of the ribs I used for this recipe, I had never seen them this way. The ribs were cut across the bone, so they were about 1 inch thick and three bones in length, rather than one bone that is usually 4 inches in length. I found them at my local Sams Club and they seemed to have less fat and more meat when sliced this way.
Next time, I plan to have a few additional ingredients on hand to add to the final dish, water chestnuts, baby bok choy and pea pods would make for a more well rounded meal.
INGREDIENTS:3 1/2 - 4 pounds short ribs
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. adobo seasoning
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Use these measurements as a ratio, sometimes you may need to prepare additional seasonings to coat all the meat.
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 C red wine, I use my standard cooking red, 12 Gauge Cabernet
1/2 C soy sauce
1 C stock, beef if you have it, but chicken will work too
2 C water
6 oz. apricot jam
4-5 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch sections
cooked rice, I have found a new favorite brand: Della, a two pound bag found at Central Market for around $5.
Siracha chili sauce
baby bok choy, quartered
1 can sliced water chestnuts
pea pods
PREPARATION:Season the short ribs and brown in a large skillet in batches until well caramelized on all sides, place in a roasting pan as you brown each rib.
In the skillet, after all ribs are browned, saute the diced onion until translucent, just a couple of minutes. Deglaze the pan adding the wine and stock, lightly scraping all browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to simmer and add the soy, water and jam, stirring until all ingredients are incorporated.
Meanwhile prepare the carrots and add them to the roasting pan. Pour the onions and sauce mixture over the meat and carrots in the roasting pan, cover and roast in the oven for 2 hours. Depending on the size of your ribs, cooking time may vary,the meat should be tender and falling off the bone. I like to prepare this part of the dish ahead, even the day before in some instances.
Remove the meat and carrots from the pan and set aside. Pour the sauce into a separate container and "degrease" the sauce.(if you prepare the day before, the grease will collect and solidify on top and can be easily removed.) If not, skim grease from the top with a spoon, to get the last remnants, use the heel from a loaf of bread, placed flat on the top of the sauce and discard the bread.
Depending on serving time, either refrigerate and follow heating instructions or proceed with these instructions.
Prepare 2 Cups of uncooked rice, following cooking instructions. I use basmati rice.
Meanwhile, in a deep skillet over medium to medium low heat, begin heating the sauce, allowing it to reduce slightly. Taste the sauce and adjust any seasonings, you can add more jam at this point if you would like your sauce to be a little sweeter or pepper flakes for more heat. Add the ribs and carrots to the pan. I pull some of the remaining fat off the ribs, if there is an excessive amount. If any of the rib bones fall off at this point simply discard them. Next time, I will add the water chestnuts, bok choy and pea pods at this point and allow them to simmer and cook through.
To serve, spoon rice into bowls, top with meat, veggies and sauce. I think this makes for a perfect bowl, but Beep likes to top his with Siracha sauce for some extra heat. He also enjoyed the entire mixture stuffed in tortillas, believe it or not!
