Braised Beef Short Ribs

We have Braised Beef Ribs and Fried Chinese Kale for dinner tonight. Beef rib is a bit chewy but I like its stronger flavour of beef. A little vinegar can help to tenderize the meat quickly and some lemon peels can also do the same and add a bit freshness of the dish.

Serve 4

Ingredients –
Beef short ribs, 1000g, cut into big chunks;
Potato, 500g, cut into big chunks, similar size as the ribs;
Onion, 100g, cut into wedges;
Garlic, 4 cloves;
Dry red chili, 4;
Bay leaf, 2;
Lemon peel, about half;
Dark soy sauce, 1tbsp;
Light soy sauce, 3tbsp;
Shaoxing wine, 3tbsp;
Aged sorghum vinegar, 1tbsp;
Sugar 1tbsp;
Salt, 2tsp;
Black pepper, 1tsp.

How to do –
1. Seal the beef in a hot pan. The ribs I bought are a bit too fat so I didn’t use any oil. Pan-fry the fat down side and there would be oil released;
2. Caramelize the potatoes in the same pan without adding any oil. The potatoes don’t need to be cooked;
3. Same pan, put in the onion, garlic, ribs, and all seasoning ingredients, except the lemon peel, add water till the beef is covered, lid on, bring to boil and simmer for half an hour in medium heat;
4. Take out the bay leaves, then put in the potato wedges and lemon peel, simmer for another 20 minutes. Lemon peel shouldn’t be cooked for too long otherwise the sauce would become bitter;
5. Reduce the sauce if there is too much and it’s ready to serve.