Beef short ribs braised low and slow in a soy-tamarind broth, finished bright with fresh lime.
This braise takes the low-and-slow logic of Japanese nikujaga and simmered beef dishes and pushes the sourness further with tamarind, an ingredient more common in Southeast and South Asian pantries but one that plays a similar role to the rice vinegar and citrus already found in Japanese braises — cutting through rich, fatty meat. Short ribs are seared hard first to build a deep brown crust, then braised for close to two hours in a broth built from soy sauce, mirin, tamarind paste and dashi, until the meat pulls away from the bone with almost no resistance. A squeeze of fresh lime at the very end wakes the whole dish back up after the long simmer mellows everything. This is a weekend, farmhouse-style dish — the kind that fills the kitchen with smell for hours and rewards patience with meat that falls apart at the touch of a fork.
Serves 4
Pat short ribs dry, season with salt, and sear in oil over medium-high heat until deeply browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove and set aside.
In the same pot, add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook 5 minutes until the onion softens and starts to color.
Stir in tamarind paste, soy sauce, mirin and sugar, then add dashi and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Return the ribs to the pot, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low heat (or in a 160°C/325°F oven) for about 2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
Remove the ribs and skim excess fat from the surface of the liquid. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes until it thickens slightly.
Stir lime juice into the reduced sauce, return the ribs to coat, and serve garnished with scallions.
Sear the ribs in batches so the pot stays hot enough to brown, not steam, the meat.
Skim the fat off the braising liquid before reducing it, or the finished sauce will taste greasy instead of clean.
Add the lime juice only at the very end — cooking it in earlier mutes its brightness.
Use pork shoulder instead of short ribs for a cheaper, equally tender braise.
Add a star anise pod to the braising liquid for a warmer, slightly sweeter background note.
Serve over mashed potatoes instead of rice for a heartier plate.
Refrigerate up to 4 days; the flavor improves overnight. Reheat gently on the stove, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much. Freezes well up to 3 months.
Long-braised beef dishes are common across Japanese home cooking, generally built on a soy-mirin-dashi base similar to nikujaga or gyudon. Tamarind is not part of that tradition; its use here reflects a home-kitchen borrowing to add a deeper sourness than rice vinegar alone provides.
Most Asian and Latin grocery stores carry tamarind paste or concentrate; it's shelf-stable and keeps for months once opened if refrigerated.
A mix of 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 teaspoon brown sugar gets you a similar sour-sweet balance, though without tamarind's deeper, fruitier notes.
Short ribs vary in thickness and fat content; if it's still tough, it usually just needs more time — check again in 20-minute increments until the meat pulls apart easily.
Per serving (420g / 14.8 oz) · 4 servings total
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