Aromatic Short Ribs
Author Notes: I served these a long long time ago when I had my own restaurant, I served them with that ubiquitous side dish of the early 00's, wasabi mashed potatoes, and I still do. They are better if you let them marinate over night and are even better held for a day or two and then reheated, so it's a nice Sunday afternoon project in anticipation of a warm easy Tuesday night supper, or great for dinner party. Would round the meal out with a simple salad, maybe butter lettuce, avocado, and radishes with a tangerine vinaigrette, and something ginger-y for dessert. - Aliwaks - Aliwaks
Food52 Review: True to its name, these short ribs are highly aromatic and flavorful. While the dish requires a fair amount of work and uses some very traditional Chinese ingredients, the recipe is well worth the effort. I easily found the ingredients at an Asian supermarket then headed home to prepare the dish for company. The verdict was unanimous -- the dish was rich in flavor and perfectly balanced with the distinct sweetness of the star anise and the sinus-clearing spiciness of the Szechuan peppercorn. I added some extra Szechuan peppercorn to increase the heat, which also worked nicely -- I would definitely experiment with this ingredient! - Constrained Cook
Serves 6-8
- 4-5 pounds short ribs cross cut, 2-3' chunks
- 1/2 cup tangerine or orange juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 cups dry sherry
- 1.5 cups low sodium tamari
- 1/4 cup rough chopped ginger
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 whole star anise
- 15 or so whole black peppercorns
- 1 dried red chili pepper
- 3 2' strips tangerine peel or dried tangerine
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup or so Wondra flour
- 1 tsp ground szechwan pepper corns (or more)
- vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons five spice powder
- 2 cup carrots, 1" chunks
- 6 shallots , halved
- 1 cup daikon radish, peeled, cut in 1" chunks
- Marinate ribs in mixture of 1 cup sherry, 1/5 cup tamari, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tbs chopped ginger, 1/2 cup orange or tangerine juice let sit over night
- Lightly toast peppercorns, cinnamon stick, star anise, tangerine peel & chili - set aside
- Remove the short ribs from marinade, dry well preheat oven to 350
- Whisk together Wondra flour & Five Spice powder
- Season ribs with salt & szechwan pepper, then dredge in flour/five spice mixture
- Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy bottomed, oven proof stew pot. Brown short ribs on all four sides, take care not to crowd the pan or they will steam, This is the can be a tedious step but it is so very worth it. Remove each browned rib to s plate and set aside. Do not drain oil
- Add toasted spices, carrots, shallots, diakon, ginger, garlic to the pot, stir to coat and let brown slightly.
- Add meat back to pot, add remaining liquids ( sherry, soy, honey, tangerine juice etc) + marinade, add 1 cup water bring to simmer.
- Cover tightly, and set in oven for 3 hours
- Meat & Veg from liquid, strain liquid to remove whole spices. Add Meat & veg back to liquid , refrigerate overnight, skim fat & reheat over gentle heat to serve.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Short Ribs


over 2 years ago Constrained Cook
I tested this last night for dinner and it came out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
over 2 years ago Aliwaks
So happy to hear!
over 2 years ago healthierkitchen
sounds delicious!
over 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Hurrah! Well unpack and get cookin'!! I have lost my reply to a reply ability somehow but this should be a response below ...
over 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Hey Aliwaks whereyabeen? These ribs look GREAT - smart toasting the spices first, and cooking ahead of time too ...
over 2 years ago Aliwaks
Hey there lady!!! OMG Life got really really complicated for awhile btw work & school plus I moved, still haven't fully unpacked the kitchen. I've been food 52 stalking but haven't had a chance to post or reply or anything, but I've untangled some things and I'm back. :)