Asian-Style Braised Sticky Short Ribs with Kumquat-Scallion-Chile Rice

Asian-Style Braised Sticky Short Ribs with Kumquat-Scallion-Chile Rice

I always thought this recipe was an example of the Chinese cooking technique called Red Cooking but it turns out that that is only partially true. I think the term has become loosely associated with braised meat. Red Cooking, in fact, involves two critical steps. The first is indeed slow braising which this dish involves and where the similarity ends. The second is the making of a sugar syrup that spices are then added to create a sticky and flavorful glaze usually including a selection of whole spices such as star anise, black cardamom, cassia cinnamon or fennel seeds. For this recipe sugar and star anise are included in the soy braising liquid then when the short ribs are done the liquid gets reduced, poured over the ribs and then the ribs are put back in the oven until they are nice and glazed. So technically not the same but the end result is pretty close and darn good!

I have made this recipe so many times I can't even count. There are a couple of suggestions I would like to make that I think would be helpful. This dish can be made all on the same day which is usually how I do it but making it the day before has two advantages. The first being that you're giving the flavors a chance to meld and mellow. The second, is that all of the considerable amount of fat will harden allowing you remove close to all of it. Good for health reasons yes but also by removing the fat the sauce will reduce faster and more properly. The original recipe stated that the reduction time was about 15 minutes. Mine always takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes. My other suggestion is to use a lower sodium version of a naturally brewed soy sauce like Tamari because it will give you a great depth of flavor without the reduction becoming too salty. This recipe can be put together in about 15 minutes and put in the oven for 3 hours during which time you can watch TV and eat Bon Bons if you like or come back here and catch up on my latest recipe :). Enjoy!

Recipe: Asian-Style Beef Short Ribs 
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Serves 4

Ingredients

* 5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions

* 1 cup low sodium Tamari or soy sauce

* 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

* 3 (5-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved and smashed
* 4 whole star anise
* 1 3-inch cinnamon stick

* 2 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger

* 1/2 cup light brown sugar

* 1 quart water

* 1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only

* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

* 1/4 cup fresh orange juice

* 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* Jasmine Rice, for serving (see below for an alternative)

* 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, for serving

* Sliced green onion tops, sliced kumquats and/or Chinese chive blossoms, 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.

After 10 years of making this recipe with plain white rice I decided to ratchet it up this time and I met with amazing results. I wanted to emphasize the orange citrus flavor from the sauce and add a little heat for contrast. I have never even eaten a kumquat until about a week ago and was truly shocked by the complex flavor of them. If you are unfamiliar, the whole fruit is eaten with the peel having a sweet orange flavor and the flesh being sour-salty. Very intense and quite wonderful! I threw a handful of them into a food processor and chopped them up very fine then added a couple of handfuls of finely sliced scallions and a diced hot chile pepper. This was added to the rice a few minutes before it was done. Dynamite with the short ribs!

"And the funniest word of all...? Kumquat!" -George Carlin. So true. So True.