Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs in Soy Apple Sauce

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Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs in Soy Apple Sauce

Slow-cooked beef short ribs in a soy apple sauce. Melt-in-your-mouth tender, rich in flavour, and beautifully easy to make.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: asian, asian fusion, Chinese

Diet: Diabetic, Low Lactose

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 2

Servings:

Calories: 737kcal

Author: Lei

Ingredients

1 kg Beef Short Ribs
1 tablespoon Oil
1 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon stick Small ones
5 Bay leaves
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/4 cup rice wine
1/2 Granny Smith Apple More or less to your liking

Instructions

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.

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.

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.

Notes

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.
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.
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.
About Spices: In Step 3, remove the spices before reducing the sauce; it makes eating much easier and avoids the bite of spices.
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.

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