I'd been waiting a while to post this little recipe. First off, it basically a rehash of my Red Cooked Pork Hock/Oxtail recipe. Secondly, it had been pretty darn hot for a while there. Since it finally feels like fall, the time seems right.
So yes, I did buy one of those Instant Pot 7 in 1 cookers. Mainly because our pressure cooker crapped out a couple of years back and I got tired of spending the entire day making Da Boyz food. I'd rather make the chicken-carrot-rice thing in a pressure cooker. What happened was interesting. I got the Instant Pot during Amazon Prime day for around $69. The Missus loves Her red cooked meats and one weekend requested that I make some short ribs. And so it came to pass....for 8 of the following 10 weekends I made this, only stoping when we left on our trip.
And while this is basically my red cooked stove top/braised meat recipe; there are some differences I made for using the Instant Pot. First off, I ended up reducing the water, because there's very little evaporation, so too much water waters things down. Second, the Missus loves mushroom in this; so why not add the strained mushroom soaking liquid as another layer of flavor. Third, because I wouldn't be there removing scum; after marinated the beef for about 15-20 minutes, I dusted it with cornstarch and browned. The Instant Pot has a saute setting which is great for softening vegetables, but it really doesn't do much for meat. Plus, the pot is quite small and I'd have to do more batches than if I did this on the stovetop. Fourth, the pressure in the Instant Pot is about 11 - 12 psi, versus a conventional pressure cooker, which, if I recall comes in at about 15psi. This means that cooking time takes a bit longer. Also, things are pretty easy with the Instant Pot, when finished you can do a quick release, check, and do another short session if you need to.
This may seem like a lot of steps but it really isn't and is rather quick. It's all about organization. Be careful not to overfill your instant pot!
I enjoy this over noodles; a pseudo niu rou mian for me.
Red Cooked Short Ribs Instant Pot Style:
3 1/2 - 4 pounds English Style Beef Short Ribs sliced to a 1 1/2 - 2" width
12-14 dried shiitake mushroom soaked in 1-1/2 cup warm water
2/3 Cup + 2 Tb Soy sauce
1/3 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup + 2Tb + 1/4 Cup Shao Xing Wine
5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1-2 1/2" knobs of ginger smashed
3 Star Anise broken in half
4 Scallions - white part only, roughly chopped
1 piece dried tangerine peel broken in half
1 2-3" cinnamon stick
1 Red Serrano Pepper sliced
1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
1 Tb Granulated Garlic
1 Tsp Five Spice
1 Tb Ground Sichuan Peppercorn
2 - 3 Tb Corn Starch
1 Cup strained mushroom soaking liquid
2 - 2 1/2 Cups Water
2Tb Avocado or similar neutral flavored oil
1 - 2 Blocks Tofu
6 - 8 Boiled Eggs
Steamed Bok Choy
- Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 1/2 cup warm water
- In a pan rub the ribs with 2 Tb Soy Sauce, 2 Tb Shao Xing, Ground White Pepper, Sichuan Peppercorn, Granulated Garlic - let marinate
- Prep and combine garlic, scallions, and Five Spice
- Prep and combine ginger, star anise, tangerine peel, cinnamon stick, serrano pepper
- In a bowl combine 2/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup dark soy sauce, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- Strain about 1 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid
- Dust the short ribs with corn starch and start browning in oil on the stove top in batches.
- Once the beef has completed browning deglaze with 1/4 cup Shao Xing wine.
- Use the fat and liquid from the beef (do not add burnt bits) to the Instant Pot and set on saute
- Add dry ingredients and saute until fragrant
- Add the garlic-scallions to the pot and saute until fragrant and soft
- Add 2/3 cup Shao Xing wine and bring to a boil
- Layer the mushrooms on top of the spice and scallion mixture
- Add the mushroom soaking liquid
- Layer the beef ribs in even layers
- Add the soy sauce mixture
- Top off with water. First using only 2 cups, then more if necessary. Do not use more than 2 1/2 cups. Adjust and mix the beef if necessary
- Cover and set to 45 minutes high pressure
- Once complete do a quick release of pressure. At this point, use a wooden skewer or similar item to determine how tender the beef is. If more time is necessary set to high pressure for 10 more minutes
- Once done, you may find that some of the bones have come out of the meat remove them. You can skim off excess fat if desired. This gives you more room to add the drained tofu and boiled eggs.
- You can put on slow cook for up to 20-30 minutes before serving. Though it's actually better the next day.
looks and sounds great!
Posted by: kat | Tuesday, 29 November 2016 at 12:56 AM
This has been a good investment for us Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 29 November 2016 at 06:32 AM
I love using my Instant Pot! It was on sale again this weekend and I was trying to justify buying a second one because of the cheaper price. I didn't end up doing it though. haha.
Posted by: Kirbie | Wednesday, 30 November 2016 at 12:23 AM
Lol Kirbie - I saw that two and I actually had the same though for a very brief instant!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 30 November 2016 at 06:57 AM
Thanks for the recipe. I love these, and it is a great time of the year for this type of thing.
Posted by: janfrederick | Wednesday, 30 November 2016 at 08:41 AM
Hi Jan - I kinda waited until the weather got a bit cooler before posting.....it is great weather for dishes like this.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 30 November 2016 at 07:40 PM
Oooo. I need one of these instant cooker. Looks good and I bet the food is soft and tender. The kids will love it.
Posted by: TFD | Wednesday, 30 November 2016 at 10:45 PM
It really comes in handy TFD. I think right now it's still almost half price on Amazon - like $68
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 01 December 2016 at 03:16 PM