yesterday i waxed poetic on ovenless, sleeveless, breezeless cooking. well, i had a change of heart, and all in your honor. you see, at some point it is inevitably going to get cold where you are. when that happens, i want you armed with this recipe. a sacrifice was made. it involved three hours with the oven at 325 degrees on a san diego day that was already quite steamy. but, i love you. it was worth it. the short ribs emerged fragrant and meaty under a sea of star anise, tomatoes, soy sauce, and ginger. you could barely lift them with tongs without them falling apart. as far as short rib recipes go, this is one of the more simple ones. once they've been handed over to the oven, i hope you'll take a long walk collecting leaves. get a little chilly before you eat them. that's the secret ingredient.
star anise & soy braised short ribs
(serves 6)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry or vermouth
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
28 ounces canned whole plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup beef stock (homemade or low sodium)
2/3 cup water
4 star anise
7 pounds beef short ribs on the bone, cut into 3 inch lengths
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed
6 scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 6 pieces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
preheat the oven to 325 degrees with a rack set near the bottom.
combine the soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, and tomatoes in a bowl. add the beef stock, water, and star anise, gently stirring.
dry the ribs with paper towels and season very lightly with salt and generously with pepper. heat the oil over medium-high in a large, heavy flamproof casserole/dutch oven (that has a fitted lid and is large enough to hold all the ribs in no more than two layers). when the oil is hot, add the ribs, taking care not to overcrowd them. you may have to work in batches. brown the ribs on all sides, a couple minutes per side, removing the ribs to a platter as you go.
when all the ribs are browned, pour off the fat and reduce the heat to low. add the garlic, scallions, and ginger, stirring and pressing them against the pot, for about 1 minutes. they should be fragrant. return the ribs to the pot and pour the soy sauce mixture over them. bring the liquid to a simmer and cover. transfer the pot to the oven and braise the ribs, turning them with tongs every 45 minutes or so, until they are completely tender when pierced with a fork, 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
transfer the ribs to a serving platter. set a strainer over a large bowl and carefully pour the accumulated juices and fat through the strainer. pick the star anise and ginger out of the solids left in the strainer. spoon off the fat that surfaces on the liquid in the large bowl (or use a gravy seperator) pour the juices and tomato solids back in the pot, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid. stir together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of liquid to create a slurry and pour this into the pot. return the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce has thickened. spoon the sauce over the ribs and garnish with cracked black pepper and the thinly sliced scallions.
notes
* this recipe was adapted from leslie revsin's in come to dinner.
* the short ribs improve over time, so they can be made ahead and refridgerated. reheat in a low oven.
* it's nice to serve these with some kind of starch to soak up all the juices--mashed potatoes or rice will do.