Braised Beef Short Ribs

Summer is almost over and as a warm weather lover, I'm a bit sad about the impending change of season.  However as a food lover, I look forward to the braised and stewed dishes in the cooler weather.   I have purchased some short ribs for barbecue; however since the last couple of days have been raining, I thought I should just try braising them instead.

Braising is one of the cooking methods I love.  This method is usually used to cook larger and tougher cuts of meat.  It involves using both dry and moist heat.  What I mean is the food is seared or browned in high heat, then add just enough liquid to cover half of the meat then simmer for hours to enrich flavor.  I also love this method because after the long hours of simmering, it leaves you with a wonderful sauce.  For this braised short ribs, I used some Chinese spices such as star anise to enhance the flavor.  There are endless possibilities and most of the braising dishes could be done ahead of time.  You could make this over the weekend and warm it up during the week so there is no need to cook after a long day at work.

Braised Beef Short Ribs (this recipe serves 2)
1 1/2 pound of beef short ribs (4 pieces)
2 small onions (sliced)
3 pieces of scallions (cut in one inch pieces)
3 pieces of ginger (cut 1/4 inch thick)
2 cloves of whole garlic
2 star anise pods
1/2 tspn of light brown sugar
1/4 tspn of Szechuan peppercorns
1/4 cup of Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 cups of beef stock or broth
1 large piece of daikon or couple pieces of carrot (sliced 1/2 inch wide)
1/4 cup of Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pat dry the short ribs and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a heavy bottom pot or a dutch oven,  add half the oil,  seared the meat on both side (a few minutes each side) and set aside.  In the same pot, add garlic, ginger and scallions, saute until fragrant.  Add remaining oil then add onions.  Saute the onions and season with salt and pepper, cook until transparent.  Add the wine and let it cook for a few minutes until the alcohol is cooked through.   Then add beef stock, star anise, peppercorns and light brown sugar.  Put the meat back in the pot and lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours.  Skim the surface with a spoon to get rid of some of the fat.  Then take the meat out, strain the liquid.  Put the meat, daikon (or carrots) back in the pot and cook for another hour until the meat is fork-tendered.  Serve it with mash potatoes, rice, noodles or soak up the sauce with bread.