Is winter over yet? I can’t wait for it to be over, foreal. BUT one of the benefits of winter is loading up on comforting meals like short ribs. Yes, I know you can eat short ribs at anytime during the year but there’s something about braising them (and other things) in the colder months that really excite me. I think these soy-braised short ribs are exciting and after you try them, you’ll probably feel the same.
OK – so remember me talking about the show ‘Salt Fat Acid Heat’? I mentioned it here and here. I hope you’ve seen it by now, if not IT IS REQUIRED TV WATCHING, in my food-loving opinion. Anyway, these soy-braised short ribs are just one of the many foods Samin (the star of the show and author of the book) shares. This recipe comes from the SALT section and good lord, I loved it.
I don’t experiment a lot with soy sauce outside of a few recipes here and there and of course, using it as a dipping sauce. Using soy sauce (along with some other key ingredients) as a base for this marinade made for a really flavorful and well-seasoned dish.
Soy-braised short ribs (a must make meal!)
A few notes about some of the ingredients in this recipe:
Mirin – Mirin is rice wine and is similar to sake but without all of the alcohol. You can usually find mirin in your local grocery store BUT beware. Some of them are sweetened with corn syrup and glucose. Keep in mind though, mirin is more sugary than sake so it will be a little sweet. The artificially sweetened mirin will do the trick for this recipe but if you’re not interested in those added ingredients order it online or go to your local Asian market if you have one.
For those of you who live in Chattanooga, you can visit Asian Food & Gifts on Hixson Pike.
Dashi – Dashi is Japanese stock. You can easily make it yourself (here’s a recipe here and here). Or you can take the extra easy way out (like I did) and buy the powder to make your own. I’m sure there are folks who would say no to this but I was pressed for time. Here’s the brand of dashi powder that I purchased.
You’ll need to marinate the short ribs overnight so the flavors really meld and intensify. Samin suggests braising the ribs for 3-4 hours. Next time I make these, I’d go more on towards 3ish hours rather than 4 hours just based on how they were looking in the oven. Use your discretion when cooking your soy-braised short ribs.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds short ribs on the bone, 2-3 inches thick
- Salt
- Neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup mirin (rice wine)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (regular sesame oil is fine too)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- About 1 cup dashi
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and the stems
- 4 scallions, green and white parts sliced
Instructions
- Prepare the ribs the day before you're cooking them. Season the meat lightly with salt (emphasis on lightly) and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and cayenne. Put the meat in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and move the marinade around so the meat is evenly coated. Refrigerate overnight.
- A few hours before you want to cook the ribs, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature.
- Adjust oven rack to the middle and heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, lower the temperature to medium-low then add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Working in batches, brown a few short ribs at a time on all three meaty sides, adding more oil if necessary before each batch. You may need to reduce the heat - just keep an eye on it. It may take 4 to 5 minutes per side for well-browned ribs.
- Transfer the ribs, bone-side down, to a large Dutch oven then pour the marinade over the meat. Add enough dashi to go about ¾-inch up the sides of the ribs, then cover with lid. Place in the oven and cook until the liquid simmers, about 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 325°F and cook until meat is very tender and falling off the bone, 3 to 4 hours.
- Uncover pot and crank oven to 450°F (his part may not be necessary depending on how the ribs are looking).
- Brush ribs with the braising juices and cook for about until shiny and brown, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and scallions.
