Braised Korean Short Ribs

Hi there. Yep, I'm still around. Just been a little quiet lately...and fairly busy. Once again, my life has undergone a dramatic change. After only a year and a half of marriage, I am divorced...again. For the past 6 months, I've been trying to...well...I guess I've been trying to find happiness. For me, happiness wasn't in marriage, so I made the difficult & painful decision to end that marriage. 

I've finally gotten into the groove of solo living and have started cooking more regularly. Just last night I made an apple pie with salted caramel sauce that was probably the best pie I'd ever made. I got such comforting satisfaction from cooking again. I'll definitely get back into the kitchen soon, especially now that fall weather is finally here. 

Cooler temperatures always signify the beginning of comfort food season for me. And, I love it...soups, stews, casseroles, hearty pastas, braised meats...I love it all! 

This recipe, which I made earlier in the year for a cooking class I was teaching, is going to be one of my "go to" dishes this winter, for sure. Braising meat until it is fall-off-the-bone-tender usually takes several hours to achieve. However, with a pressure cooker, you can get the same result in a matter of minutes.  Braised short ribs take 6-7 hours on the stovetop but only 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.

I was a bit scared to use a pressure cooker at first; I had visions of the thing blowing up in my kitchen and boiled hot food straying everything. But, it was very easy and safe to use. You simply add your ingredients to the pot, seal the lid in place, cook on high until the pot is pressurized (a knob will pop up), lower the heat, then cook the prescribed amount of time. To release the pressure, you just set the pot in the sink and run cold water over the lid. In seconds, the pressure knob will go down and you can safely unlock the lid. I am a total pressure cooker convert.

You can also cook apple sauce in 10 minutes, chutneys in 20 minutes, whole artichokes in 15 minutes, dried/unsoaked beans in 30 minutes, pork shoulder in just over 1 hour, steamed veggies (including corn on the cob) & stewed greens in less than 5 minutes, steel cut oats in 11 minutes, & oxtail in 45 minutes. 

Braised Korean Shortribs

 Serves 4-6

1/3 cup dark soy sauce

1/2 cup beer

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 small onion, peeled & minced

6 scallions, quartered crosswise

6 large garlic cloves, crushed & peeled

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

3 pounds beef short ribs *

freshly ground black pepper

toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)

green onion, sliced (for garnish)

* I used thinly sliced short ribs for this, but you can use any short ribs you find.

• To make the marinade: whisk together the soy sauce, beer, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the honey & sesame oil until smooth. Add the onion, scallions, garlic, ginger, & red pepper flakes. Season with black pepper to taste. 
• Place the short ribs in a deep dish & pour the marinade over them. Be sure each piece of beef is well coated. Allow to marinate for four hours, refrigerated. 
• Transfer the beef AND the marinade into a heavy-bottomed pot.  Cook over medium-low heat, partially covered, for 6-7 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender. (Alternately, you can cook the beef in a pressure cooker for 30-45 minutes, depending how thick your ribs are cut.)  
• To serve: Transfer the beef to a serving platter. Garnish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds & sliced green onion. Serve with steamed rice.