No matter where you go in the world, Korean food and flavors are on the rise and quickly taking over as a top cuisine! Combine those delicious flavors with some quality beef short ribs and you are just asking for umami heaven! Short ribs are somewhat on the tougher side of beef cuts, so typically they are best prepared by braising or a low and slow long cook. Today's recipe, Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs, takes any doubt or difficulty out of the cooking process and produces some of the most tender and delicious short ribs you will ever try! You may be saying to yourself, "There is no way it can be that easy to produce such a high level dish using only a slow cooker," but it truly is that simple so stick around and let me show you how it's done....Let's Get Cooking!
Thanks to the glory of what we call slow cookers, prep work for this recipe is extremely simple. Begin by rough chopping some carrots and green onions and lining the bottom of your slow cooker. Baby carrots also work great if you don't have any regular carrots on hand. We won't be eating any of the vegetables, unless you just really want to, so don't worry about cutting things exactly the same size or thickness. They are there to purely enhance the liquid broth flavors so do yourself a favor and just keep it rough and rustic for time purposes.
Moving on, arrange the beef short ribs in the slow cooker on top of the onion and carrot layer. It isn't entirely crucial, but keeping the short ribs to one or two layers max ensures they will remain submersed in liquids and stay moist and juicy during the cooking process. As with most cooking processes, I also suggest arranging them with any fat sides up so it will slowly render throughout the meat as it cooks.
Now we need to make the all-important and key sauce for this Slow Cooker Korean Short Rib recipe. In a large bowl or container, combine the soy sauce, beef stock, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger paste, gochujang, and black pepper. Be sure to stir it well as the gochujang is thick and will take a bit of effort to thin out and fully mix with the other ingredients. You could also add all these ingredients to a blender to help puree everything into a homogenous sauce mixture.
Overall, this sauce is similar to a Korean Bulgogi marinade, just not as sweet. Feel free to alter the ingredient amounts to your personal taste if you like things a bit spicier or more acidic, etc etc. It is pretty damn good as is, though, so give it a taste and decide on your own whether or not to mess up a perfectly good recipe. Let that ride on your conscience and not mine, eh? Anyway, as you probably imagine, pour the sauce over the short ribs, put the lid on, and set the slow cooker to low for 8 to 10 hours. You will notice that the sauce doesn't completely submerge all the short ribs, but that is ok when you slow cook for such a long time. The liquids will actually increase as the water and natural juices slowly ooze out of the sauce and meat during the cooking process.
After 8 to 10 hours of work, sleep, or running errands, the short ribs should be fall-off-the-bone tender and full of those delicious Korean flavors we have all come to love and enjoy! These short are extremely tender so you may have to use a slotted spoon and tongs to carefully remove them from the cooking liquids without completely falling apart and shredding to umami heaven.
Obviously, you can serve these little flavor bombs as is, but feel free to take things a step further and create a wonderful sauce from the cooking liquids. Simply strain the liquids from any solids into a saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. In a separate small bowl or cup, combine the water and corn starch to create a slurry and add that to your cooking liquids. Raise the temperature until the sauce begins to boil, then lower things back down to a medium-low heat. Continue to stir the sauce and it will thicken to almost a gravy-like consistency within a few minutes. This can be poured over the ribs, served on the side, or even completely skipped if you don't have the time or desire for a sauce. The same can be said for those carrots and green onions we used as a base layer for cooking. You can toss them or serve them along with the short ribs. It is your meal so make it however you wish! These Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs are sure to quickly become a family favorite so remember, even though a dish may sound too difficult for the average home cook, a few modifications and some simple cooking techniques means anyone can create a delicious meal....Just Keep Cooking!
SLOW COOKER KOREAN SHORT RIBS
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