
This is a rather ugly Thai-style dish based on a recipe in Fine Cooking. It tastes great, but isn’t the most photogenic of presentations.
By the photos, you can see that I didn’t use short ribs. Instead I used the chuck-eye cut, which is a generally tender and slightly marbled cut—kind of like a low-scale ribeye. I’ve always had good luck with the cut, and for this dish, it was no exception. The braising makes it particularly tender.
What you’ll need:
- 3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut into 2- to 3-rib portions
- 1T coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1T grated fresh ginger
- 2t minced fresh lemongrass
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2T Thai red curry paste—this gives it good flavor. Use 3T for more heat
- 1T brown sugar, packed
- 1 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream
- 1T fish sauce
- 4 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- Lime wedges (optional for serving)
What to do:
Begin heating your oven to 325º F.
Season the meat with salt and pepper, and in a medium-size Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in batches for 3 to 5 minutes on each side until well browned. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium, and add the shallot, ginger, lemongrass and garlic to the dutch oven, stir-frying everything for about a minute. Next, stir in the curry paste and brown sugar, cooking everything for another minute. Now stir in the coconut milk and fish sauce before bringing it to a simmer. Return the meat and its accumulated juices to the Dutch oven (meat side down if using ribs). Cover and braise in the oven until the meat is fork-tender—this will take between 1 and 2.5 hours, depending on the cut of meat.
When the meat is cooked, transfer it to a serving platter; keeping it warm while you cook the bok choy. Skim and discard the top layer of rendered fat from the braising liquid. Bring the remaining liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the bok choy and simmer it for 3-4 minutes until it starts to get tender. Transfer the bok choy to the meat platter and pour any remaining liquid from the Dutch oven over the meat and bok choy.
Serve hot with optional lime wedges.

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