Chinese style braised beef short ribs
Chinese Style Braised Beef Short Ribs
A significant proportion of Melbourne’s population has Chinese heritage. Some date the migration of their Chinese ancestors back to the gold rush era of the 1860s, but most have come to our shores since the relaxation of the draconian “White Australia Policy” in the 1970s. Early Chinese restaurants in Melbourne’s Little Bourke Street served Cantonese food adapted to suit the Anglo Australian palate. Since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the resulting influx of students, there has been a greater diversification of regional cuisines and a seismic shift to authenticity.
Wok cooking is commonplace in Australia. In forty years households have adopted and adapted stir frying as a quick and nutritious way to prepare a family meal. Only more recently has exposure to genuine regional Chinese cuisines through restaurants meals and media savvy chefs such as Kylie Kwong exposed us to using traditional Chinese seasonings and spicing to steaming, braising and serving raw food.
Red Master Stock is the perfect braising medium for beef. It not only adds spice, fragrance and umami, the secondary cut of meat becomes incredibly moist and flavoursome. Red braised beef ribs are delicious served hot, or pulled apart and served cold.
1.5 kg beef short ribs
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/4 cup Shaoxing cooking wine
5cm pice fresh root ginger, finely sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
2 sticks cassia bark
4 star anise
4 large pieces of dried mandarin peel
1 teaspoon Szechun peppercorns
4 spring onion, soft green tops only
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons salt reduced tamari
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon garlic infused oil
1 tablespoon black vinegar
Water to cover
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Heat the peanut oil in a heavy based oven proof casserole dish. Thoroughly brown the beef ribs, remove and set aside.
Deglaze the pan with the Shaoxing wine, then add the aromatics, spices, sauces and oils. Return the beef to the pan, then add enough water to cover the ribs.
Cover the pan and oven braise for 2 hours.
Remove the ribs from the braising liquid and chill. Strain the solids from the liquid and chill. Remove and discard the raft of solidified fat.
Return the ribs and the braising liquid to the pan to reheat.
Serve on a bed of rice with Chinese greens.
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30 comments on “Chinese style braised beef short ribs”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
The very first photo is amazing, ribs look perfect! And it’s so interesting to read the history behind the dish; thanks for sharing! 🙂
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What a savory and delicious way to cook short ribs…thanks for sharing the recipe.
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It’s a pleasure Karen. Last night we enjoyed a meal at a local Thai restaurant. They served a couple of delicious beef short rib dishes which have inspired me to experiment further.
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I’ll be looking forward to your new creations as I love good Thai food. 🙂
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Your history of Chinese cuisine in Oz is very much like ours in the States. It’s my understanding that many of the dishes we love are nowhere to be found in China, having been “born” on the West Coast after our own Gold Rush. Although I’ve my own recipe for cooking short ribs, I sure would love to try your recipe, especially making a Master Stock that I could save and re-use. Best of all, I get to hit the Asian markets looking for ingredients I’ve never seen, let alone tried, before. It’s the best kind of scavenger hunt. 🙂
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Thanks John. I love exploring the shelves of the Asian market too, and always come home with something new to try. This is a really delicious way to prepare short ribs, the flavours are wonderful…
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Thank you so much for sharing, I love this cut of meat, but I have generally only used it with Italian flavours! I can’t wait to try!!! Liz x
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Enjoy, Liz…..
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A delight to read, thank you.
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Glad you enjoyed it….😃
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I love red-braised dishes. And short ribs. Looks absolutely delicious!
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The evolution of chinese cooking here is a story in itself. At last we have some authentic influences and your beautifu master stock stands out as one of them. In my time in Szechaun Province this year, i ate some amazing dishes that, still today, bear no resemblance to anything I have eaten here. The Cantonese influence is still the main one I feel.
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I’m sure you’re right about the influence of Cantonese cuisine but thank goodness we have moved beyond sweet and sour pork et al. China is on my bucket list. Do you have Fuschia Dunlop’s Sichuan Cookery? Great book worth cooking from….
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I have heard about her book, but it doesn’t yet grace my shelves. Might be time for a bit of online book shopping.
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I hope the husband did not complain about the bones in his plates because this looks to me like a true man’s dish 😉 Deliciously comforting!
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The truth is Raphaelle, the meat slipped off the bone so easily after the long slow cook that I removed the bones before I served it. Any secondary cut of beef would work well with this delicious master stock
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Slow cooked meat is just the best – but it’s such a primitive pleasure to eat the meat of the bone! Damn you husband 😉
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This is my kind of cooking – and more so now I am heading into winter. Thanks for reminding me of this recipe.
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Is that you in a disguise Nancy? I’m sure you’ll make a far more authentic version
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Delicious! I do a similarish dish with beef shin. Will have to try this version next time.
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Hi Cheery, shin, cheek, ribs, they would all be good braised in this stock, even pork…..
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I’ve never known what to do with short ribs. And never used orange peel for a savoury dish. This sounds nice.
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Thanks Mary, it makes a tasty change of flavour for braised beef.
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Sandra, would there be anything else other than xanthate gum I could use as thickener for the berry ice cream?
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Mary if you are using regular milk and cream ie not lactose free, just leave it out and the higher fat content of the cream will have the same affect. If you are using lactose free milk and cream, you could add gelatine or a couple of egg yolks, just enough to thicken the mixture slightly. The egg yolks would have to be cooked into a custard with the milk, cream and sugar, added in the same manner as the gum. I hope this helps…
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thanks, Sandra.
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Thank you for this fantastic recipe which will land in my permanent kitchen file in about five minutes to wait for just a couple of ingredients I do not have! I have bought the ‘Herbie’s Infusion’ ball a couple of times . . . with all respect to a world renowned firm, I have just wandered over and methinks I can see more taste in yours 🙂 ! Must admit that during a busy time at the moment I have lived in a world of stirfries . . . easy to use little protein and all that should go from the vegetable crisper . . . but this, after quite some months of absence, would make a beautiful dish!! If one strained the stock, how long would it keep in the fridge? I realize one could use it only for the ribs, but any chance of a ‘return journey’?
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I’d freeze the stock between uses to be safe, but all master stocks can be strained and used over and over. If you add fresh aromatics each time they get better with use. Lighten master stock with chicken stock to a beautiful soup base or cook beef or duck, even pork in the rich beefy stock.
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I enjoy reading about the history and I love how yummy this dish looks. YUM
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Thanks Lisa. Australians owe an enormous debt of gratitude to multiculturalism!
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