Spicy Soy-Braised Short Ribs

Name: Spicy Soy-Braised Short Ribs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil; 4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs; Salt and pepper; 10 garlic cloves, peeled; ½ cup soy sauce; ¼ to ½ cup chile garlic sauce; 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish if desired; Cooked rice or ramen noodles (both optional), for serving

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Updated Dec. 19, 2024

Spicy Soy-Braised Short Ribs — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Rating: 5(212)
Comments: Read comments

These short ribs are the definition of high reward with minimal effort. The only thing required of you is time: time for the garlic cloves to break down into little pockets of creamy garlic; time for the aromatic cilantro and the chile sauce to permeate the soy broth; time for the ribs to simmer until they fall off the bone. Three hours is indeed a long time, but the time will pass. At the end of that, decide whether you want to eat these short ribs paired simply with white rice and fresh vegetables, or atop a warm tangle of ramen noodles. Of course you could always eat these straight out of the pot, too, paired with nothing but their own flavorful broth. Choose your own adventure.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
4pounds bone-in beef short ribs
Salt and pepper
10garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup soy sauce
¼ to ½ cup chile garlic sauce
1cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems, plus more for garnish if desired
Cooked rice or ramen noodles (both optional), for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large pot over high heat, heat up oil until it shimmers, about 1 minute.
Step 2
While the oil heats, season the short ribs with salt and pepper all over. When the oil is ready, sear the meat on the two largest sides, working in batches if necessary, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the seared short ribs to a plate after they’re seared and pour out and discard any excess oil. Return the meat to the pot over high heat.
Step 3
Add garlic, soy sauce, chile-garlic sauce, cilantro, and enough water to reach above the meat (about 9 cups).
Step 4
Bring the mixture to a boil, about 10 minutes, then lower to medium-high and cook at a steady boil, covered, for 2 hours and 50 minutes. Check on the water levels throughout the cooking process, adding additional water as needed to ensure the meat is fully covered for the first 2 hours of cooking. Take the meat off the stove once it is fall-off-the bone tender.
Step 5
Discard the bones and plate the meat. Serve the meat with white rice and garnish with fresh cilantro, or use the broth to make ramen and top the noodles with the short ribs. This dish can also be prepared in advance and refrigerated for later serving.

Ratings

5 out of 5

212 user ratings

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Comments

Gordon5 months ago

Huy Fong (the Sriracha people) makes one. Clear plastic bottle with green lid. Simply called "Chili Garlic Sauce". Has a rooster in the logo. Looks Vietnamese but made in California, and widely available in the asian section of decent grocery stores.

Shana5 months ago

What do you mean by “chili garlic sauce”? A little help like a brand name as a suggestion would be helpful. I assume you mean an asian sauce of some sort but guidance would be helpful. Otherwise looks good.

deet5 months ago

Delicious meal—so simple, you can’t go wrong. Bouled rice noodles directly in the liquid right after removing the fork tender ribs and also added baby bok choy to make it a complete meal. Husband loved it. Next time I might add a little orange or tangerine juice to the simmer to add a little sweetness and freshness.

aly r.3 days ago

Incredibly simple to make and the flavor on these are deep and delicious. I’m a huge baby with spicy food and even I found it well balanced and easy to eat. Only comment is the oil content - you definitely need to spoon about half a cup’s worth of oil off the top before serving (or even better, if you make it ahead of time, let it harden in the refrigerator and just chip off the oil on top before reheating on the stove). Adding some chopped chives and lemon zest at the end is also a nice contrast of fresh flavors with the rich beef if you’re not a cilantro person!

Tori1 week ago

I made this in the oven at 275F, until it was dinner time, about 4 hours. I threw ramen noodles in the broth after it was done. Even my pickiest kid liked it. It’s a win for me!

INCREDIBLE1 month ago

Let me tell you that I was EAGER to write a review after making this just last night. Absolutely delicious dish that I will be making often. Spice was just enough for me (my temperature is a mild buffalo wing). I used the recommended garlic sauce, bone-in short ribs from wegmans (best meat in my opinion), and ramen noodles that were wegmans brand. I cut the recipe in half (bc my ribs were 1.89 lb), added 1-2 more garlic cloves, and added in just a sploosh more garlic sauce and soy sauce (measure with your heart). Only mods will be more bok choy (2 heads of baby bok were used) and increasing the broth amount bc I used the whole packet of ramen. 10/10 will make again. Would love links to less spicy ramen recipes because I’d love my daughter to be able to eat more and this was too hot for her 6 year old palate.

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