Simple Soy Braised Short Ribs

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Beef short ribs slow cooked in simple Asian pantry sauces – this is the most flavorful, easy dinner that tastes even better the next day.

Asian-style Short Ribs

It’s officially hibernation season in my mind.

And what better way to cozy up indoors than with a comforting bowl of rich, meaty short ribs :)

I feel like there’s two main ways to make braised short ribs – the American way, in red wine, and the Asian way, in soy sauce.

Personally, I like the soy-braise flavor better!

So here’s how to make the simplest soy short ribs – that taste even better the next day.

Keep reading, or pin this article to save it for later ⇟

Soy Braised Short Ribs Recipe Video

@shershegrows
simple soy braised short ribs 🤝🏻 with a healthy heap of microgreens + choy sum #asianrecipes #soybraisedshortribs #shortribrecipe #asianshortribs #braisedbeefshortribs #yuchoy #choysum

♬ original sound – Sher

What You’ll Need

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Small Saucepan

Soy Sauce

Mirin

Use a heavy bottom cast iron pot. Cast iron retains heat well, ensuring that the short ribs cook nice and slow at the perfect temperature for several hours.

You can also use the same pot to reduce the braising liquid to a thick glaze, so this is a one-pot recipe and pretty easy cleanup!

The short ribs are slowly simmered in soy sauce, so use a high quality option like this one or this one.

I like to use 3/4 cup of light soy sauce and 1/4 cup of dark soy sauce, but you can also just use 1 cup of regular sauce soy if you don’t have both.

Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine.

It’s used in tons of Asian recipes and stores well in the pantry, so I recommend getting a bottle if you like Asian food!

But in a pinch, you can substitute a dry sherry, dry white wine or rice vinegar for mirin.

Mirin is a sweet liquid though, so for every tablespoon of your substitute, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

How to Make Soy Glazed Short Ribs

Prep the Short Ribs the Night Before

If you have time, prep the ribs the night before.

Pat the ribs dry, remove any excess fat, and season with salt. The ribs will braise in soy sauce, which can be quite salty, so only use about half as much salt to season the beef as you normally would.

Then place the short ribs on a tray and leave in the fridge overnight, uncovered, so that the meat can dry age and the salt can penetrate.

A few hours before you plan to cook the ribs, take them out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

I like to use bone-in short ribs, because I’ll then reuse the bones for stock. But you can get short ribs with or without the bone!

tender-braised-asian-style-short-ribs-in-soy-ginger-garlic

Soy Ginger Braising Liquid

What makes this recipe so simple is it’s essentially set it and forget it – the short ribs are left to slowly braise in the oven and all the flavor develops from the braising liquid.

I use 4 cups of water to increase the volume of the liquid and ensure that there’s enough to submerge most of the ribs.

But, you could also use beef stock or dashi for extra richness.

Slow Cook the Short Ribs

The longer the ribs cook, the better.

Typically, I find that the ribs will get really tender and fall off the bone after at least 3 hours of cooking time.

Reduce the Sauce

After the ribs have cooked to fall-off-the-bone status, remove them from the pot.

In a small pot on the stove,work on reducing the soy braising liquid into a thick, shiny soy glaze.

It takes about ~20 minutes (but stir frequently and check on it) until the soy braise thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

You can also use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the braising liquid if you wish! Just mix cornstarch and cold water in a 1:1 ratio.

how-to-reduce-soy-sauce-to-thicken-glaze

Make Ahead

I love making cozy one-pot meals in the winter that reheat easily and still taste great.

This recipe in particular tastes better over time so you make the short ribs a day in advance! It also makes the recipe handy for meal prepping, dinner parties or potlucks.

To reheat, first warm up the soy glaze on the stovetop until warm. Then, add back in the short ribs, cover, and heat on low for ~10 minutes.

Garnish with Greens

I always like to add a heaping pile of greens to protein-rich meals, just to kind of cut the richness.

It’s optional, but adding a combination of fresh herbs and microgreens to garnish the dish really make a difference, in my opinion!

These slow cooked short ribs are rich, meaty and luxurious. The soy glaze is also quite rich, with a nice combination of punchy salt and sweet umami.

Most grocery stores sell microgreens nowadays!

You can easily grow microgreens yourself (sprouts take about 5 days to grow on your windowsill) using DIY kits like these.

I also like to pile on the cilantro and scallions.

Serve with a Side of Yu Choy

And lately, I’ve also been loving Asian vegetables.

Broccolini would go really well with the short ribs and rice, or I recommend an Asian green called yu choy.

It tastes like a cross between broccoli and asparagus, with tender leaves and crunchy stalks.

Yu choy is sold at most Asian grocery stores. It comes in various stages of maturity – I tend to prefer the young shoots that are about 6 inches in length. The larger mature shoots with yellow flowers are also popular and quite tasty.

One of the best things about Asian vegetables is how easy they are to cook – most taste great with just a simple sauté in a fry pan.

To cook yu choy, add olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Season with a little salt and pepper, and dress with the soy glaze.

Soy Braised Short Rib Recipe

Soy Braised Short Ribs

Prep Time: 1 day

Cook Time: 3 hours

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 day 3 hours 30 minutes

Beef short ribs slow cooked in simple Asian pantry sauces - this is the most flavorful, easy dinner that tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients

2 lbs beef short ribs
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
3/4 cup light soy sauce
3/4 cup mirin
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 cups water
1/2 inch ginger, smashed
10 cloves garlic, smashed
6 scallions, whites only

Garnish

green scallions, chopped
microgreens
cilantro

Instructions

Prep the ribs the night before

Clean up ribs of any fat cap or excess sinew.
Season all sides of the meat lightly, with salt, and let sit uncovered in the fridge, overnight. Use about half the salt you normally would, as the soy braising liquid will be salty.

Short Ribs

Preheat the oven to 300°F
Heat a high-smoke point oil in a heavy bottom pot. On high seat, sear the short ribs until all sides have been browned to a dark caramel color.
Remove the meat and set aside. Drain the pot of any excess oil.
Create the braising liquid by combining both soy sauces, mirin, sugar and water
Return the pot to medium heat and add braising liquid and aromatics (ginger, garlic and scallion whites).
Add back the short ribs and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. If any impurities or foam arise, you can skim them out of the liquid.
Once simmering, cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2.5 hours, covered, then check on the meat. Turn any pieces of short rib to ensure all sides of the meat are submerged in the braising liquid
Cook for 30 more minutes in the oven, uncovered.
After 3 hours the meat should be fork tender and falling off the bone.

To serve

Pour just the braising liquid into a small saucepan, straining out the aromatics and setting aside the short ribs.
Bring the braising liquid to a boil and allow the sauce to thicken and reduce until glossy.
Meanwhile, cook your rice and sides.
Once the sauce has been reduced, add back the short ribs. Turn the heat to low and cover the pot for 10-15 minutes, until the ribs have been reheated.
Serve with rice and a heaping garnish of microgreens, scallions and cilantro