Slow-cooked beef short ribs in a sweet, tangy and savoury soy apple sauce – rich, tender, and beautifully easy to make. Follow the step-by-step guide below 👩‍🍳

About this Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Beef short ribs are a delicacy for good reason. The meat around the bones is tender, juicy, and full of flavour. The rich collagen and fat make every bite melt in your mouth.

It is amazing how a recipe with just a few ingredients turns out this good. Slow-cooked in sweet and savoury soy apple sauce, your kitchen will smell incredible, and the taste definitely lives up to it. 😋

Stack the ribs on mashed potato, stuff them in a sandwich or burger, serve with rice, or even over noodle soup – the options are endless!

These braised beef ribs are easy to incorporate into your weekly meals – cook them once, then simply reheat or freeze them as needed.

🍏 Why Add Apple to Braised Beef Spare Ribs?

You might not expect apples in a beef dish, but they totally work in this recipe.

Here is why:

• The sweet-tangy flavour and fruity scent make the sauce amazing – no extra sugar needed.
• They help tenderise the meat as it slow-cooks.
• They naturally thicken the sauce for that perfect rich finish.

Ingredients for this Chinese Braised Beef recipe

• Beef: I use short ribs for this recipe, but any cut that’s good for slow cooking works just as well – such as beef shank, beef cheeks, brisket, oxtails and more.
• Apple: I tested both regular apples and Granny Smith apples for this recipe. The regular ones turned out a bit too sweet for my taste, while the green apples have the perfect sweet-and-sour balance. I use half an apple, blended with 1/2 cup of water to make a gravy-like mixture that blends beautifully into the sauce.
• Spices: I throw in one star anise, a small cinnamon stick, and a couple of bay leaves. These spices are strong, so I keep it light – just enough to give the beef some amazing layers of flavour without taking over.
• Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce adds saltiness, while dark soy sauce gives the brown colour and a slightly caramelised flavour. If you don’t have the dark soy sauce, you can skip it. Please note that saltiness can vary by brand, so adjust the amount to suit your taste.
• Water: The amount of water depends on how you slow-cook the beef, the heat, and how much evaporates during the cooking process. As a general rule, add water to the ribs, leaving 1–2 cm below the meat, as the beef will shrink during cooking. If it starts to dry out, top up with a little more. At the end, reduce the liquid to create a thick, gravy-like sauce.

Instructions for Asian Short Ribs Recipe

Step 1: Prepare the Beef and Sauce

• Blend half an apple with ½ cup of water, then mix in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rice wine.
• Heat some oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the beef spare ribs. Pan-fry until all sides are lightly browned.
• Add the star anise and cinnamon stick to the oil, and fry for about one minute to bring out their aroma.

Step 2: Slow Cook

• Pour the sauce over the beef, add the bay leaves, and then add water to the ribs, leaving it 1–2 cm below the meat.
• Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Cover with a lid and slow cook for about 2 hours, until the beef is tender and full of flavour.

Step 3: Reduce the Sauce
Turn up the heat and remove the lid. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces into a rich, thick, gravy-like sauce.

Cooking Tips For Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs Recipe

• Cooking Time: I’ve tested this recipe a few times – about 1½ hours on the stove makes the beef tender but still a bit chewy, while 2 hours gives that perfectly tender texture. Use this as a guide and adjust it to your liking.
• Cooking Method: In Step 2, you can transfer the beef and sauce to a slow cooker, Crock-Pot, or even the oven to continue the slow-cooking process.
• About Spices: In Step 3, remove the spices before reducing the sauce; it makes eating much easier and avoids the bite of spices.
• Sauce Thickening: To thicken the sauce easily, as mentioned in step 3, remove the ribs first. Simmer the liquid until it thickens, then return the ribs and toss them in the sauce.
• More Flavour: Add a few whole dried chillis to the sauce if you like a bit of heat, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar at the end to balance out the sweetness.

Slow-cooked, melt-in-your-mouth, and full of rich flavour – Perfect for a lazy weekend dinner.

Give this recipe a try and let the slow cooker do the magic. 🍯

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