INSTANT POT KOREAN STYLE SHORT RIBS

WHAT WE THINK

You ready for some spicy, slightly sweet, amazingly tender shredded beef? WELL THEN HOT DAMN YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. Dust off that Instant Pot you swore you’d use all the time when you bought it on Black Friday and let’s dive into this super easy dish.

WHAT YOU NEED (SERVES 4-6, DO MATH IF YOU NEED MORE OR LESS)

3-ish pounds short ribs, boneless or bone-in

1 Asian pear, red pear, or red apple, diced

1 piece ginger root, 1-1.5” long, peeled and roughly chopped

6 large cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons regular soy sauce

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce (we dig the mushroom flavored one from Lee Kum Kee)

4 tablespoons Gochujang

2 tablespoons chili oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 cup mirin

4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup chopped mushrooms (we use a sweet pre-packaged mix of shiitake, oyster and cremini)

olive oil

salt

pepper

Garnishes (optional):

Green onion, chopped

Sesame seeds

Bean sprouts

Lime wedges

WHAT TO DO

SOAK YOUR MEAT.

That sounds dirty but it’s not. In fact, it’s for cleaning! Start by putting your short ribs into a shallow pan filled with cold water and leave them there as you prepare you sauce. 

BLEND YOUR SAUCE.

Throw your pear, ginger, garlic, soy sauces, Gochujang, chili oil, honey, brown sugar and mirin into a blender. Blend it! Give it a taste and adjust levels to suit your tastes: more honey if you need it sweeter, more Gochujang or chili oil if you need it hotter, and more soy sauce if it needs salt.

SEASON YOUR MEAT.

By now, that water your ribs have soaked in should be nice and pink, as some of the blood was pulled from the short ribs. Take the meat out and pat it dry. Then season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

SEAR YOUR MEAT.

Turn your Instant Pot to Saute. Once hot, drizzle a little olive oil into the Instant Pot. Sear your short ribs for a minute or two on each side, two hunks of meat at a time so you aren’t overcrowding the pot. 

UNDER PRESSURE.

Once the meat is seared, put it all back in the pan, along with the sauce you blended up and the carrots and mushrooms you chopped. Turn your Instant Pot to the Meat setting (Normal level) for 50 minutes. Seal that lid, go grab a drink and relax while it does its thing.

RELEASE AND REDUCE.

When the alarm goes off on your Instant Pot, DON’T TOUCH IT YET. Give it 10 minutes to naturally release, THEN you can turn it to quick release to get rid of any remaining pressure in the pot. Take your meat out of the Instant Pot and place it into a bowl. Turn the Instant Pot to Saute and allow that sauce to simmer, bubble and reduce down a bit. While that’s happening grab a couple forks and shred your short ribs. Once the ribs are shredded and the sauce is reduced, throw the meat back into the Instant Pot and mix it all together.

SERVE IT.

We like to put these beautiful short ribs over shirataki noodles, but there are all kinds of ways you can serve it up: regular noodles, white rice, cauliflower rice, our bacon fried rice (hint hint) or even just by itself with a veggie or starch on the side!

Top the short ribs with green onions, sesame seeds, bean sprouts, and spritz with a little lime juice to add texture and cut through the richness of the sauce.

WHAT TO DRINK WITH IT.

A light lager. And if you really want to go the Korean route, throw a little bit of Soju in.