Curried Beef Short Ribs

This was tonight's dinner and damn was it good. I had to go to work this morning so Matty put this together and got it going for us. This was our first exploration into short ribs. Yummy.

Curried Beef Short Ribs
Finishing this dish with lime zest and juice brightens its rich flavors. Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces ribs, 2/3 cup rice, and about 2 1/2 tablespoons sauce) (We got 2 dinners and 1 lunch) Cooking Light, MARCH 2009 (Their pic is on the left, ours on the right)


2 teaspoons canola oil
2 pounds beef short ribs, trimmed
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/3 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger (Matty grated it)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce (we used tamari soy sauce)
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 cups hot cooked basmati rice (we used brown basmati rice)

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle ribs with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add half of ribs to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place ribs in an electric slow cooker. Repeat procedure with remaining ribs.

2. Add shallots, garlic, and ginger to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water and curry paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, sugar, and fish sauce. Add coconut milk mixture to cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours.

3. Remove ribs from cooker; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a colander over a bowl; discard solids. (It seemed like such a waste of yumminess so we didn't strain it) Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour cooking liquid into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into a small bowl, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Stir in remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, rind, and juice. Shred rib meat with 2 forks; discard bones. Serve sauce over ribs and rice.

CALORIES 410 ; FAT 16.1g (sat 6.5g,mono 7g,poly 0.9g); CHOLESTEROL 70mg; CALCIUM 24mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.1g; SODIUM 841mg; PROTEIN 27g; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 4.1mg