By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 2½ hours, plus marinating
- Rating
- 4(251)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Beef short ribs, cut flanken style, are the best choice for any number of braises or stews, whether it’s Yankee pot roast or French pot-au-feu. Since they have the perfect fat-to-lean ratio, they always remain juicy. Here, a fragrant Chinese-inspired marinade featuring star anise, cinnamon stick, 5-spice powder and tangerine makes them anything but ordinary. Serve these short ribs in a Western manner with mashed root vegetables, or stick with Asian accompaniments like steamed rice and daikon radish.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 5pounds beef short ribs, cut flanken style, across the bone in 3-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1tablespoon five-spice powder
- ½teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (optional)
- 2tablespoons grated ginger
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- Zest of 1 large tangerine, in wide strips
- ½cup tangerine juice
- 6 to 8small dried Chinese chile peppers (or chiles de arbol)
- ½cup dark brown sugar
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1tablespoon salted black bean paste
- 1daikon radish, about 1 pound peeled (optional)
- 3pieces star anise
- 1cinnamon stick, 3-inch length
- ¼cup Chinese rice wine or sherry
- 3cups hot chicken broth or water
- 2teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
- 6scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1661 calories; 140 grams fat; 60 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 63 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 61 grams protein; 1600 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Season short ribs generously on both sides with salt and pepper and place in a heavy roasting pan in one layer. In a mixing bowl, stir together five-spice powder, Sichuan pepper (if using), ginger, garlic, tangerine zest and juice, chile peppers, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and black bean paste. Smear mixture over meat and leave to marinate at least one hour at room temperature, or preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
Step
2
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut daikon into ½-inch pieces and set aside. Bring meat to room temperature. Add star anise, cinnamon stick, rice wine and broth to roasting pan. Cover and bake for 1½ hours, then add daikon and return to oven. Bake for 30 minutes more, until meat is quite tender.
Step
3
Remove meat and daikon from pan and keep warm in a serving dish. Strain braising juices into a saucepan and degrease. You should have about 3 cups. Bring to a simmer, then whisk in cornstarch mixture and cook for 1 minute until slightly thickened. Pour sauce over meat and daikon, garnish with scallions and serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
251
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Cooking Notes
Steve Hanegan
The flavors in this recipe are superb. Like one of the other reviewers mentioned, these ribs need much longer cook time - I ended up giving them an additional hour and a half. I would also suggest that after straining and degreasing the cooking liquids, take the time to reduce the volume by half THEN add the cornstarch and water to thicken. I served this with coconut rice and Bok Choy with Shiitakes and oyster sauce - there were NO leftovers. :-)
Bill
I have done this recipe several time now and love the flavors. The stated cooking time has not worked for me unless I heat all the ingredients on the stove to a simmer before putting it in the oven. I have substituted Cara Cara orange and a very ripe Meyer lemon for the tangerine to good effect.
Annette
I love this dish. Exotic comfort food. Made it for Christmas Eve dinner with coconut rice and Dole Asian chopped cabbage salad - perfect combo. I couldn't taste the tangerine, so I'd add more zest next time. The 5 spice was strong, so maybe only 3/4 of a TB next time.
Jeffh
Made it without any marination. Still good. Multiple pans are needed to cook 5 lbs of ribs.
Terri McFadden
I used a chuck pot roast rather than short ribs and I didn't have black bean paste so used black bean & garlic sauce, which worked fine. I marinated the roast for 24 hours and cooked for 2 1/2 hours, which made it very tender and delicious!
YM
To me the essence of this dish is the beefy tastes of the ribs and the marinating sauce. Orange peels really enhanced the flavor. I did not have black bean paste, daikon radish, Chinese rice wine, but I attempted the dish anyway and I am glad I did. I used white wine and Chinese Spice packet (star anise, cinnamon stick plus other Chinese spices) and white beans. Everything went in the pressure cooker together with beef ribs, the marinating sauce for 45 minutes. Delicious!
Englishman in Brooklyn
I just took these out of the oven. I don't know why I didn't realize this before starting but 350 is too hot to braise. I cooked the ribs for 2 hours but they are tough, rather than fork tender. I'm kicking myself for not cooking them for longer at a lower temperature. After a first taste, my first reaction is that the five spice overpowers all other flavors. This clearly dish has a lot of potential but it wasn't realized in time for my New Year's dinner!
LaSalt
Used chuck roast, carrots since no daikon, reduced five spice slightly, 4 hours at 300, reduced sauce and then added cornstarch. Served with garlic rice and broccoli. Really good! Will try with short ribs next time and a little more heat.
JaneB
David T - could you turn this into more of a soup/stew by adding more broth and not thickening with cornstarch?
Elizabeth Van Orden
Other than searing the short ribs and adding about 45 minutes, I followed the recipe exactly as directed and these were beautiful. Served with broccolini tossed with toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds and coconut rice with green onions.
ElisaTB
I have made this multiple times since I first commented and it’s always turned out great. Added to my pantry so I could make the recipe as written, and also changed it per seasonally. Tonight I am using red onions, multi colored carrots and red plums instead of radishes and oranges. I still kept (frozen) orange zest and
Rinat
Has anyone tried this in an instant pot?
Katie
This was a hit along with mushrooms, bok choy, and coconut rice for Valentine's meal. Subbed cooking sherry for the rice wine and soybean paste for the black bean paste. Also used less meat than called for, around 3.5 lbs. Agree with slightly longer cooking time called for in other comments, using a large Dutch oven. Reduced the sauce by half before thickening. Rich, flavorful, complex, and delicious.
Kate
My ribs remained tough and chewy. Maybe I need to extend the cooking time? The flavors are wonderful. I made my own Chinese 5 spice mix following the recipe in the NYT cooking section. Easy!
Janet
I found Korean bean paste and Chinese bean paste. Do you know which one this recipe should use? I looked online and they seem to not be interchangeable.
Elisa
Couldn’t believe that I made this for the first time & it turned out so great. 1/4 amts; subbed blood oranges for tangerines, no bean paste, dried chiles, or daikon but added orange slices, fresh red jalapeño slices & brushed pineapple/pepper sauce on the beef after the first hour in the oven. (3” rib sections were done after 1.5 hrs.) Orange slices and zest were almost candied, but the cooking liquid was still savory-spicy and tasty!
Susie
Could this be done with good beef stew meat?
Gail
With regard to my last note, I meant to say cooked beef *twice as long* - 3 hours at 300 degrees.
Gail
This was fantastic! Per other reviewers - I halved the five-spice, and cooked beef twice at 300 degrees. I paired this with an appetizer of this Thai cucumber and avocado soup https://www.fromachefskitchen.com/cold-thai-cucumber-avocado-soup-cucumber-relish/ and for dessert I served a sampler of green tea ice cream, black sesame ice cream and mango sherbert. Loved it! With leftovers, I heated the beef (deboned) and sauce with minced leftover daikon then put that on wide rice noodles.
AC
More tangerine juice & peelLess 5-spiceTurnips vs radish300• 4 hrsReduced jus by 2/3Served on mashed potatoes
Lesley
This is delicious. I didn't salt the ribs in Step 1 and used unsalted beef broth in Step 2, then reduced the sauce to thicken in Step 3 rather than use cornstarch. Also, I didn't have salted black bean paste so I subbed white miso. The sauce was plenty salty enough with the miso and soy sauce after reducing.
Katie
I wish there was more heat in the recipe. Added some chili oil to the completed dish while eating.
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