Easy Sweet & Spicy Braised Short Ribs

A dish totally from my imagination. I wanted to create a meat course that was spicy and sweet with East-Asian undertones; This was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. It was a very simple but messy dish to make. Trust me. It’s worth it!

Short ribs are a dish best made one day to be reheated and served the next day (or even a few days after). GREAT for entertaining because of the simplicity of the final steps before serving.

It’s a basic (EASY, I promise!) braise, which means…

I browned a couple of pounds (but I recommend doing 3-4 lbs at a time) of MEATY short ribs in a Dutch oven. These happened to be from Whole Foods (no, they’re NOT more expensive than Jewel or Mariano’s) $10 per lb (on sale) when I bought them.

Preheat your oven to 300º f

Once browned on all sides, I moved the ribs to a bowl while I made the braising liquid. I started with 3 cups of beef broth and added 15 oz of tomato purée (not sauce, not maranera, nothing but purée).

I added some fresh split garlic cloves and two habañero peppers, each split in half along with large chunks of fresh ginger. Stir together over medium heat until it’s almost boiling.

The “fun” starts later when you’ll add 2 cups of light brown sugar to this broth!

The “easy” part of the dish…

Add the ribs back into the newly made broth, cover the Dutch oven and slide into the 300º preheated oven for 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes. 

Carefullly take the pot from the oven and, again remove the ribs and set aside for now.

With the Dutch oven back on the stovetop, add 2 cups of light brown sugar and bring the broth (about to become a glaze) to a boil, add the ribs back into the pot. Continue the boiling. You’ll see the broth thicken into a glaze after 10-15 minutes of boiling.

Continue the boiling. You’ll see the broth thicken into a glaze after 10-15 minutes of boiling.  

Slo-mo video for fun!

THIS is the messy part! It spatters a lot but you won’t mind the cleanup once you taste these!

Pull one or two for sampling while the rest cool. Store (whatever you’ve managed not to eat) until you’re ready to reheat and serve with Jasmine rice or (udon maybe) noodles or whatever you fancy.

ENJOY!!