I served these short ribs as a secondary dish at this past weekend’s party. I wanted to offer my guests an alternative in case lasagne didn’t appeal to them. My inspiration for the recipe that came together here was the excellent version that I tasted at Lisa’s (Authentic Suburban Gourmet). I was fortunate enough to taste her Hoisin and Orange Braised Short Ribs at a dinner party she threw a couple of years ago and I have never forgotten them. Had I been more decisive about my party menu, I would have prepared my short ribs exactly the way Lisa did (I highly recommend her recipe). However, I waffled until the last minute about serving ribs alongside an already meat-based lasagne, so I didn’t have all the ingredients required to prepare her version by the time I got my act together. I also anticipated that the oven would be too busy to accommodate another dish so I went the slow cooker route instead.
This is what I ended up with based on what I had available. I threw all the ingredients into the slow cooker, crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t botch the recipe too much and forgot about it. A few hours was all it took for the meat to be fall-off-the-bone tender. The soy sauce and sugar lent deep flavor without being cloyingly rich while the orange juice and ginger provided some brightness. The ribs were a hit with my friends and I’ve been happily enjoying leftovers since. I do recommend cooking this the day before–the flavors were better the next day.
Thanks so much for the inspiration, Lisa!
Slow Cooker Asian-Style Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 - 4 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup + 1 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar loosely packed
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 3 carrots peeled and cut in 1-2 inch pieces
Instructions
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Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on High for 4-4 1/2 hours (or low for about 6 hours). Stir once or twice throughout the cooking period. The ribs were super tender at the 4.5 hour mark.
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The flavors are best when reheated the next day so I recommend cooking a day ahead. The steam from the slow cooker will create a lot of sauce. I separated the sauce from the beef once it was cooked, refrigerated and threw out the fat that solidified at the top. I added back the sauce when I reheated the short ribs the next day.
Recipe Notes
I used Korean-cut short ribs here. If you end up using the larger English-cut short ribs, you may need to cook them just a little longer.
This is my kind of meal! Orange juice! This is a fun recipe to give it a try and looks so good with the rice. That plate is really a perfect meal for me. I’m going to check out Lisa’s recipe now too! I love hanging out in the kitchen when meat is slowly being cooked. 🙂
I love Asian Style Ribs but I’ve only done Moraccaan Style in the Slow Cooker and Asian’s in the oven…I must rectify that because these sound delicious.
Don’t you just love it when a recipe surpasses expectation?! 😀 It’s not quite 10am and I could already eat everything on this plate. Gorgeous photos!
This looks soooo good!! But, you sound just like me! I always end up adding to the menu last minute, and I drive myself crazy! I bet your guests were delighted to see these ribs alongside every other deliciousness you had prepared.
These ribs look incredible! I could go for a plate right now 🙂
Both versions sound fantastic! I love short ribs, and these Asian style ones look incredible!
Wow, that is an incredible meal right there!
That looks good. A wonderfully comforting cold weather meal.
Cheers,
Rosa
I love crockpot ideas and this looks like one my family would like, your plating looks great too!
Slow cooker meals that look as good as this make my day. I’m determined to use mine more.
Hi Jean,
I wish I had been at your dinner party, those were some lucky guests. Short ribs are so good and these look amazing. The flavours are a winning combination. Thanks so much for sharing and hope you are well:)
P.S.
I’m so behind on your blog and need to catch up soon. Everything you’ve posted looks so delicious.
Short ribs are my favourite, as I’ve indicated on my blog as one of the foods I’ll have to eat before the end of the world – haha. If you served me (and my husband specially) a meat lasagna and short ribs side-by-side, you’d be our super hero! No joke!
Hi Jean! Your dinner party sounds fantastic, I’m sure you had a houseful of happy diners!
I have to try these ribs;-)
I would have had the lasagna and the short ribs! GREG
I bet that was some dinner party! They look fantastic and I know my guys would love this 🙂
I truly need a slow cooker in my life. We don’t eat short ribs (or beef, for that matter), but that looks so delicious!!!
I was so excited!!
My husband made this for me tonight………but all we were able to eat was the rice and broccoli. Unfortunately, we just had to throw this entire dish in the garbage. The underlying flavour was delicious, however the sodium content was unpalatable. 3/4 cup of soy sauce infused into the meat?? Wowzers. Caution people.
Tracy, gosh I’m really sorry to hear this. I’ll have to check my notes on the soy sauce amount; I’m wondering if this was a typo. At the very least I will make it again to make sure about the proportions. I really do appreciate you bringing this to my attention and I’m sorry for the wasted meal. 🙁
We just made this today and it tasted great! It doesn’t taste very salty at all. For what it’s worth, we used low sodium soy sauce, which might be a good choice (I never use soy sauce that isn’t low sodium, so not sure how the taste would differ). We also used a slightly smaller amount of meat and did not have a problem with the sodium content.
Mel, thanks so much for trying out this recipe and I’m so glad you liked it.
Glad the soy sauce amount worked out for you, too. Really appreciate the feedback!