I’m traveling on my and JD’s anniversary, so the night before, I decided to make a rather nice meal out of the short ribs he had picked out. Again, this isn’t anything in particular, though it uses quite a bit of Asian flavors from various countries. Even so, it’s “international” enough to serve with a loaf of fresh-baked (well, take-and-bake) bread without things seeming out of place, but I’d imagine it would be just as good with sides of rice and kimchi.
Short Ribs
- Six beef short ribs (about 2.5 lbs)
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1⁄2 cup Korean chili powder
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1⁄4 onion - grated
- 1⁄4 onion - diced
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Mix the chili powder, five-spice powder, honey, garlic, grated onion, salt, and pepper together in a bowl with your fingers.
- Start sautéeing the diced onions in oil in a heavy pot or dutch oven.
- Rub the short ribs with the chili powder mix evenly on all sides.
- Brown the short ribs in the pan with the onions briefly on all sides.
- Add the wine, water, sesame oil, soy sauce, and brown sugar and cover, moving the pot to the oven. Braise for two hours at 350°F, then reduce the heat to 325°F and hold for an additional half hour.
- Serve when cooled slightly. The boiled down braising liquid, about the consistency of jam for us, was delicious on bread.
Broccoli
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- Canola oil
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-high heat until fragrant.
- Add the broccoli and stir, keeping the broccoli from sticking to the dry pan.
- After the broccoli has started to turn bright green and wilt a little, add the canola oil and stir briefly, then add the soy sauce and rice vinegar.
- Cook for another five to ten minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the broccoli has cooked down a little further - it should still be quite crisp.