Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs
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Literally fall-off-the-bone tender! SO SO GOOD. Set and forget right in your crockpot. So easy with zero fuss!
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Short ribs? Easy? Yes, yes, yes. With the help of the crockpot, this is by far one of the easiest, slow cooker set and forget dinners. The crockpot will do all the heavy lifting here. And you can even white lie to your guests and tell them you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all night to get these short ribs just right. It’s so so good, they’ll believe you without a shadow of a doubt.
why i love this recipe
- Set it and forget it dinner. Even on the busiest of days, you can make dinner happen so fast. Just dump everything right in your slow cooker morning of – no searing, no browning, no nothing here!
- Weeknight-friendly yet fancy enough for company. This is one of those great slow cooker recipes that is super weeknight friendly + will make your heart sing and still so impressive and luxurious enough to serve to guests.
- The marinade is so flavorful. The marinade is simply out-of-this-world amazing yielding such tender, flavorful short ribs using just a handful of pantry staples – soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and sesame oil.
- Leftovers taste even better. Similar to lasagna, short ribs tend to taste even better the next day, allowing the flavors to meld and intensify even further overnight. That being said, this is a great dish to make ahead of time for dinner parties and big get-togethers.
tips and tricks for success
- Make ahead of time. Short ribs taste even better the very next day, perfect to make this ahead of time 1 day in advance (scraping off the fat) and reheating in the oven until warmed through.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Mix cornstarch with water. Combining the cornstarch with water first (also known as a slurry) will prevent lumps in the sauce, ensuring a smooth consistency and even thickening.
- Adjust the consistency. Add in the slurry slowly in a fine stream, stirring constantly. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water or beef broth until the desired consistency is reached.
- Serve over rice. This is best served over rice (or your favorite starch such as mashed potatoes or cauliflower rice) to sop up all the leftover cooking juices.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover short ribs can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Freeze as needed. Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings with leftover cooking liquid (to keep the short ribs moist during freezing and reheating), squeezing out any excess air before sealing. If leftovers are going to be used as shredded meat, shred first, then freeze. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating in a low oven to prevent from drying out at 250°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through, about 20-30 minutes.
what to serve with asian short ribs
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt slow cooker
Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs: Frequently Asked Questions
We love to serve this over rice and a side of kimchi and cucumbers.
Absolutely! But because ground ginger is often more potent/concentrated than freshly grated ginger, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger to 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.
Yes, this is one of our favorite red wine braised short ribs recipes made on the stovetop.
No slow cooker, no problem! This can be braised in a Dutch oven at 300°F for 3-4 hours, or until tender.
Yes! Freeze the leftover short ribs in the cooking liquid, or shred them first prior to freezing, storing up to 3 months.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs
Ingredients
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup beef broth
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 4 pounds beef short ribs
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Place short ribs into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in soy sauce mixture until well combined.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.*
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and sesame seeds, if desired.
Video
Notes
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I’ve made this many times and love it.
If I want to add carrots and scallions when would you do that?
The scallions I sprinkle over the top before serving. The carrots would depend on how you have cut them and how thick or thin they are.
I use this for country style pork ribs and it is amazing! I trim some of the fat before cooking, add a bit more soy sauce and use the whole (14.5 oz) can of low salt beef broth. Today I am using a few thick pork steaks and a small butt roast. I made spaetzle with carmelized onions and Swiss cheese the first time… going for fried rice tonight. Can’t wait! Thank you for such an easy and versatile recipe.
This recipe is for sure damn delicious. I noticed that my short ribs had quite a bit of fat on the top, so before adding the corn starch, I used a ladle to get most of the extra fat. It takes some time but removing most of it helped keep the fat down. 5 stars from me!
Delicious. I’ve made this several times and always enjoy it, as do my dining companions. My tweaks: I brown the ribs beforehand. I add gochujang to the initial sauce that’s poured onto the ribs (instead of using chili flakes), as well as an extra half cup of beef broth; and I add some chopped shitake mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, and onions at about an hour before terminus. I also add in the final hour a quarter cup of red wine, a dash of ginger powder, and an additional tablespoon or two of brown sugar. I remove much of the grease that surfaces after the dish is refrigerated. This is my favorite meat dish.
im not a good cook but these were very easy to make and were a hit with everyone.
I did use boneless ribs
LOVE! Made twice and it’s amazing. Made 2 pounds for 2 people and used the recipe exact for everything else. I also threw in mushrooms on top to cook with the ribs. SO GOOD. Served over cauliflower rice to enjoy the delicious sauce.
Absolutely magic. This is a must cook if you like good beef ribs.
I cooked for 7 hours on low and last 30 min on high as per instructions and turned out perfect.
The taste is very good, not too sweet, which is good.
You can cut the meat with a fork.
Would happily cook this again.
Should I brown the short ribs BEFORE cooking in slow roaster (always done it this way with other recipes but not sure the difference, TBH)?
I cooked this for 1st time, and did not brown the ribs first. Cooked it as per instructions and turned out perfect.
This is my second recipe ever from your site!
I don’t like cooking and I usually find it a really mundane task but I want to cook for my future husband one day and these recipes are honestly so easy to follow and well rewarding!
I was all out of soy sauce and ended up finding 8 or so take out packets I had no sesame oil, no seeds, no ginger no fresh parsley and I just threw the ribs in now, was so excited to make them that I didn’t read corn starch added afterwards to thicken and just added it right away…..we’ll see how these turn out ♀️
I love love love this recipe…..however, I use the boneless short ribs and I add in carrots and small potatoes into the slow cooker too!
These came out amazing! I only got 3 lbs of short ribs instead of 5lbs because I was cooking just for my boyfriend and myself. I kept everything else the same. I did add Bok Choy the last 10 minutes of cooking and ate it on top of jasmine rice. It was absolutely delicious!
So perfect! I pre-seasoned my short ribs the night before with olive oil, salt, and garlic. Definitely use low sodium soy sauce, but used 3x the garlic and ginger called for in the recipe and cooked in slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Removed ribs, drained oil out of juices and then simmered to thicken for about 5 minutes in a saucepan with cornstarch. Added ribs to pan to coat for stickier texture. Garnished with sliced green onions. Served with cilantro rice. Family LOVED it. New go-to.
Very tasty, but I had so much grease from the short ribs and didn’t know how to remove it from the sauce. My leftovers will go in the fridge and then I can remove the grease.
When you would rather be out on the boat (on September 29!) than cooking the kitchen, you look for a slow cooker recipe. This was simple to make, had a sweet yet spicy note, and tasted delicious. I cut the recipe in half for a pound and a half of ribs and they were done is five hours on low. Perfect!
Tried this recipe for Sunday dinner and it was a hit! Will definitely make it again.
Absolutely delicious! My sauce didn’t thicken as I believe it should’ve but the flavor was on point. Sooo good. Definitely will make this again
I didnt follow the recipe exactly but it got me where I needed to go. Very delicious!
Wonderful. Added a couple of tablespoons on Sinigang dry soup mix (Tamarid powder) and finished with Bok Choy just before thickening. Damn Delicious!
OMG, fixed this tonight and it turned out so well. I don’t have a crockpot, so I gave the short ribs a quick sear, emptied out all but a few spoon fulls of grease, then sautéed some carrots and onion, and cooked it up on 325F for 3.5 hours. I also used about 2 cups of beef bullion and added some chopped lemongrass to the mix. Served it inside of bao buns. Salivating just thinking about it.
THE EASIEST RECIPE EVER TO MAKE AND OMG SO DAMN DELICIOUS!!!!! A NEW STAPLE IN MY FAMILY!!!!
How can I adapt this to Instant pot?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I do short ribs for 45 min on high pressure, then natural release for 15 mins, and then manual release any remaining steam. Then I transfer the sauce to a sauté pan to thicken/strain grease 🙂
Thank you Andrea!!!