We had the most civilized weeknight meal on monday. Of course in our house it doesn’t take much to make it civilized. First of all dinner must occur before 8 and not in the 10pm region because of a culinary miscalculation. Secondly the meal should be fully balanced – or at least contain healthy portions of protein and vegetables. Lastly the television is off and we sit at the table (or the kitchen island, since we have no table) to eat.
We were so successful on Monday night that not only was dinner served within 20 minutes of me getting home (7:30)but that we had wine and dessert! For this, I thank not only my slow cooker but the slow cooker cookbook from which I am starting to learn ratios and techniques on how to use it. I foresee many more comforting stewy meals, it is so exciting knowing that you have good meal waiting for you at home.
(serves 4)
3 pounds pork or beef ribs, trimmed of excess fat and portioned
½C soy sauce
1C orange juice
2T rice vinegar
2T ginger, grated
2t hot chili flakes
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2T toasted sesame oil
2T honey
3T toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
2 scallions, thinly sliced for garnish
2T corn starch, as needed.
The night before:
Place a large saute pan over medium heat add ribs and cook for 15-20 minutes until browned on all sides. Cool quickly and transfer to the fridge in a sealed container*.
In a Tupperware combine the soy sauce, juice, vinegar, ginger, garlic, chili, oil and honey and mix well. Refrigerate.
The next day:
Transfer ribs to slow cooker and pour sauce over top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is very tender.
To serve arrange on a platter and pour sauce over top, garnish with scallion and sesame seeds.
If you have extra sauce, throw it in the fridge and use as the basis of stir fry sauce the next day. I marinated some chicken breast strips in a bit of this and a bit of chinese cooking wine, drained it and then tossed it in 1 part cornstarch, 1 part flour, 1 part sesame oil and 1 part peanut oil. Fry it up along with some veggies, add the sauce and a bit of water if necessary along with some noodles and poof fabulous stir fry. Toss with some cilantro, scallions, fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds. A delicious way to stretch the leftovers.
*Note: There are potential food safety issues with partly cooking meat and then finishing the cooking later, while I do it and I have found books which advocate it and others which don’t I think you are safe as long as you minimize the amount of time the food is in the danger zone. After searing it bring it down to temperature as soon as possible so it can be put in the fridge.
More Recipes:
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
Beef Short Ribs with Cinammon and Red Wine Recipe
Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Kat, this is a good post for me. First, Korean food is under-rated and I myself alone amongst the Koreans eating in their establishments.
Second, I too recently got a slow cooker and I’m eager to learn it’s nuances, so thanks for the book link.
Finally, as for food safety, as along as the meat has cooled before you mix it with the other ingredients, you should be safe from botulism and other stomach turning illnesses.
I am *so* making this! It sounds delicious!!
Oh, this sounds so good. I think I definitely have to get that cookbook!
I absolutely love Korean food. And because I am a working parent, I depend a lot on my slow cooker. I guess I’ll be making this soon.
May I recommend trying a tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste in place of the chili flakes? I’ve only discovered it myself a few months back, and it just adds that extra touch.
ooh! I can’t wait to try this!
-steph
Lately I’ve been seeing more and more reasons to break down and buy a slow cooker. This one is by far the most compelling. Regarding the safety of partially cooked meats or other foods, most cooks used to say to cool the cooked food a bit before refrigerating it. Now most advocate putting it in the fridge while still hot to minimize health risks. You can leave it uncovered until it cools, if sogginess is an issue, but get it into the cold right away.
I just acquired a slow cooker and I will definitely have to give this a try! I love ribs!
Both the ribs and the noodle dish sound tasty. It is always nice when you can use the leftovers from one meal to make a new one.
I have a slow cooker and all its doing is collecting dust. This looks delicious and is good reason for me to dust mine off and put it back into use again.
Peter – you are right, I went back and read the food safety guide (specifically re:slow cookers) and I thought they had recommended not pre cooking meat. As long as you cool the meat quickly it should be fine. It is just one of those things where the newer books i was able to find browned things the night before and the older ones didn’t.
dp – duly noted!
terry b – thanks for the tip, I usually try and let things get to room temp before putting them in the fridge but it does depend on the volume, a vat of chicken stock could take hours and hours.. I have been reading the the Essentials of Cooking and they basically said the same thing – be smart and you should be fine.
These look and sounds amazing. I’m going to have to get this cookbook, as I am having a hard time finding good slow cooker recipes!
I love slow cooker recipes and I love ribs. Do you think I could do this with short ribs?
Wow, that is one gorgeous looking dish! I love ribs, I love Korean food so what a perfect match.
Truthfully I’m not much of a slow cooker fan, but my daughter is and I’m forwarding this post to her. She probably will want to add the book to her collection.
Thanks for sharing.
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