Lunch Sunday was Korean-style short ribs with rice and spinach with toasted sesame seeds. Delicious!
This is not a dainty meal. The ribs are messy with bits of bone and fat and there’s no way to eat them except to give in to the experience and dig in. Along with the ribs we had spinach with toasted sesame seeds and rice.
Short ribs are one of those weird cuts you get when you buy a side of beef for the freezer. This was a great way to use them, rather than just cooking them down for stock.
From The Complete Meat Cookbook
Serves 2
10 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
6 green onions
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups water
About 2 pounds of beef short ribs
2 tablespoons sesame oil
The ribs I had were in strips of 3 ribs, about 10 inches long, 3 inches wide. There were two of these strips in a package. I split them between the bones, making 6 pieces.
Combine all the ingredients except the sesame oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven. The ribs should be covered by liquid. Add more water and soy if they’re not
Bring to a boil and skim any foam from the top.
Reduce to a simmer and let cook uncovered for 2 hours, until the ribs are very tender.
Heat your oven to 450 degrees.
Remove the ribs from the sauce and pat dry.
Place the ribs on a broiler pan. You may want to put a sheet of aluminum foil on the pan for easy clean-up.[1]
Brush with the sesame oil. Use a light hand with this, it can easily get overpowering. You may even want to cut the sesame oil with some neutral vegetable oil.
Cook in the oven until starting to get brown and crisp on the edges.
Serve in a bowl with some of the strained cooking sauce.
From The Complete Meat Cookbook
Plenty for 2 as a side dish
10 ounces spinach, washed and dried
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
salt
Place the spinach in a pot with a little water. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender.
Drain the spinach and let it cool.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake and stir often. They will burn the minute you turn your back. Toast until they are starting to color and smell toasted. This ought to take 3 to 5 minutes.
Put the sesame seeds in a bowl as soon as they are done.
Squeeze as much water as you can out of spinach.
Toss the spinach, sesame seeds, and about 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Season with salt and taste. Add more sesame oil if you like.
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