I finally made these ribs two days ago and we really liked them. Note: I found the black beans impossible to find in Portland. Of course, I didn't go to every single market, regular or Asian, so ended up using 2 Tbs black bean paste. Next time I'm going to up the ante to 3 Tbs.
Crockpot Asian Short Ribs
From “Slow Cooker Cooking”
Yield: 6-8 servings
Cooking Time: 6 hours on LOW
Slow Cooker Size: 4 quart
2 Tbs vegetable oil
4 lbs meaty short ribs
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, chopped
2 Tbs peeled, minced fresh ginger
2 Tbs Chinese fermented black beans, rinsed (could not find these, so used 2 Tbs black bean sauce)
1 Tbs ancho chile powder**
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 whole star anise
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Heat 1 Tbs of oil in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches so that you don’t crowd the pan. Turn the meat so that it browns well on all sides, 5-6 minutes for each batch. Transfer the meat to the insert of the slow cooker. Pour out the meat fat in the sauté pan, and then add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pan and cook, stirring over medium-high heat until they have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, black beans, and ancho chile powder; cook stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, soy sauce, red wine, broth, thyme, bay leaf, star anise and black pepper. Bring to boil over high heat and scrape the browned bits of meat clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan with a wooden spoon as the mixture boils. Pour the stock mixture over the meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or until the meat is very tender and almost falling off the bone. Remove the bay leaf and star anise.
To serve, transfer the short ribs to a serving platter and keep warm. Skim the fat off the cooking juices and then use a hand-held immersion blender to roughly puree the vegetable solids and cooking juices into a chunky sauce. Alternatively, the sauce may be pureed in a blender or food processor.
(Skimming the fat: We all know this is not easty I don't own one of those cup measures with the spout coming out of the bottom and need to get one. So instead, I placed 1 small papertowel on top and let it sop up fat. Repeated this 3 more times and just about all of the fat was removed.)
**I would add more, as this amount did not provide the heat as suggested in the recipe notes; or, perhaps add a tic of ceyenne, white pepper, chile flakes or hot paprika.
Enjoy!
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