Korean Beef Short Ribs

"Bow Chicka Bao Bao!!"
(yes...Dave and I kept saying that as we made this.  And yes...we think we are so clever)

Now, let me put this out there before anyone says anything.  I'm not sure what makes this meat "Korean," except for the fact that I adapted the recipe from an existing recipe that claimed it was.  Either way, it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten!!  When trying to figure out what to serve it with, I immediately thought of a steamed Bao bun.  What an amazing combination!

Ingredients:
for the beef:
2-3 cloves garlic
3/4 inches of ginger, peeled
1/3 cups soy sauce - we used low sodium
1/4 cups brown sugar
3 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/5 pounds beef short ribs - we used boneless
a bit of cornstarch and water

for the steamed buns:
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp oil
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour, plus about another half cup for kneading

for the cucumber slaw:
1 cucumber
1/2 carrot (or 1 small carrot)
4 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
large pinch of salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:
for the beef:

1. Finely mince garlic and ginger.  Mix with soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. 
2. Place short ribs into a crock pot and pour sauce over ribs. 
3. Cover, and cook on low for about 8 hours. 
4. When the meat is falling apart, turn off the heat, remove from the pot, and shred the beef.
5. Pour the juice from the crock pot into a container and place in the fridge to cool while you prepare the other components.

 this is how you know it's ready

once I removed the sauce they got a little dry. don't worry- they will be rejuicified  later!

for the steamed buns:

1. Place the yeast into the warm water, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes to activate.
2. Once bubbly, add the sugar and oil to the yeast mixture.
3. Combine 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, then add to the yeast mixture.
4. Mix the dough (it will be very sticky).  Knead and continue to add flour until smooth (for us, it took about a half cup of extra flour)
5. Cover dough, put it in a warm place, and let rise for 30 minutes.
6. Once risen, cut small pieces of dough and flatten into discs.
7. Place each disc onto a square of parchment paper, and steam for 10 minutes.

thanks, Dave, for doing the tough stuff! :)

 

 haha, that little disc got out of frame, and Dave wouldn't let me try a second photo!!

amazingly fluffy and delicious!

for the cucumber slaw:

1. Peel cucumber and carrot and chop into matchsticks. 
2. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes. 
3. Add the dressing to the cucumber and carrot and mix well.

 
to finish:

1. Remove the sauce from the refrigerator- by now you should be able to skim off the excess fat.
2. Place in a sauce pan and simmer until thickened. I wanted it a bit thicker so I added some cornstarch mixed with water. 
3. Pour the sauce on top of the meat, and stir to combine 
4. Serve on buns with some of the slaw and enjoy!

Beef recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Bun recipe from this video on YouTube