Asian Inspired Recipe: Braised Beef Short Ribs
This recipe was easily inspired by the recipes that I became very comfortable with. This included influences from Chinese and Filipino cuisine. The Chinese dish that influence this recipe is Hong Shao Ro and I wanted to capture the savory and sweet characteristics of the dish, but with beef short ribs. A similar dish, Pork Adobo from the Philippines, is sometimes prepared with siling labuyo (Filipino chili pepper). I pulled some aspects of this dish to add into this inspired recipe.
Ingredients
Seasonings
The core of this recipe is inspired from Hong Shao Ro, but I ended up going easy on the specific spices like star anise. I ended up adding specific ones like tomato, lemon, and siling labuyo. In some adobo recipes, tomato and lemon are added in some pork adobo recipes to “cut the fat“. The acidity in this ingredients helps breakdown fat so it doesn’t overwhelm the dish with just taste of fat. The siling labuyo is a Filipino cuisine if one chooses to make a dish spicy.

Beef Short Ribs

The main protein of choice for this inspired recipe is beef short ribs. As opposed to just using boneless beef parts, I wanted to include flavors extracted from the beef. It is highly recommended to preboil the short ribs and replace the water. When you are in simmering process, I found that you may have to add enough water to cover the short ribs.

Once you have reached the later stages of the cooking process, the water should start transform from a light brown to a dark brown color to match the colors of dark soy sauce. The amount of time needed to ensure the meat is tender and juicy is around 2-3 hours, but it can be adjusted to work with what you have at home. Add or reduce the amount of time accordingly. Once it is cooked make sure to enjoy it with freshly cooked rice!

Braised Beef Short Ribs (Asian Inspired)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of beef short ribs
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 red onion sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper (to taste)
- 2 tbsp cooking wine
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tomato diced
- 2 red chili pepper
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
Garnish
- Spring onions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- First, prepare all your ingredients. Slice up the onions, mince the garlic, and dice up the tomato. Then prepare the measurements for the seasoning.
- With a deep pan, add water and heat up to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add the beef short ribs. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes and remove any gunk. Rinse and set it aside.
- With the same deep pan, add cooking oil. On medium-high heat, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Then add the beef short ribs back. Season with salt, black pepper, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly and cook on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- After cooking for a bit, add the diced tomatoes and siling labuyo (red chili pepper). Add about 2-3 cups of water or until it is completely submerged. Add the sesame oil, last. Continue to cook on medium-high heat for 2-3 hours or until tender. (See notes: Stir intermittently)
- Once tender, serve it with sesame seeds and chopped green onions and rice. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You may have to add more water if the water has evaporated.
If you enjoy this recipe, make sure to leave a comment and make sure to check out recent recipes like pork sisig, inihaw na liempo, spicy tuna onigiri, gua bao, etc!