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
Did you make this recipe?
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Amazing! I will always use this recipe! Easy and damn delicious!
Can I incorporate Kinder’s Japanese cooking sauce in this recipe? It contains ginger, soy sauce, garlic, sugar and sesame oil. If not, would marinating my ribs overnight in this sauce be ok? Thank you.
Very delicious! Thank you!
Can Boneless short ribs be used and would cook time ne different then!
Can I use boneless short ribs instead and would the time be the same in the crockpot?
Easy & common ingredients. Excellent flavor. I use Coco Aminos (sub for soy), 2 Tblsp ground ginger (sub for fresh), and my homemade chx broth (sub for beef broth). Even with all my subs, this is a great, easy on the palate, flavorful dish that the entire family enjoys very much.
You know the fantasy of a recipe that takes literally no work yet magically produces a meal good enough for a dinner that will be universally raved about by your guests? THIS IS THE ONE. It is so good that it’s almost irritating. The only hard part is mincing garlic and ginger, then everything just gets dumped in the slow cooker for 4 hrs on high. You don’t even have to brown the meat. I don’t even do the step with adding the cornstarch for the sauce because I like a more au jus-like consistency anyway. It’s like magic.
This was so insanely good I’m still thinking about it!!!
fantastic and easy! thank you so much. I didn’t have cornstarch, so used all-purpose flour to thicken. I’ll make it again for sure.
Can I use regular soy sauce instead of low sodium soy sauce and if so, is there any change to the amount?
I use regular soy sauce and it came out perfectly. Just make sure you don’t also salt the meat and make sure the broth is unsalted.
Made this tonight. SO good. My husband asked me to save this to make again.
Turned out beautifully! SO EASY and my husband loved it! Thanks!
I’m looking forward to trying this. Question – do you recommend searing the short ribs prior to placing in the slow cooker? I’m thinking that would enhance the flavor, but I don’t see where anyone did this.
Never mind – I did see that someone seared the short ribs and I did the same. I made these last night and they came out great. They fell right off the bone and only took about 4 hours on low in my crockpot. Once I was able to sweep out the grease (I saw a method online where you put ice cubes on a ladle and drag it around the sauce – it actually worked), the sauce was great. Served with jasmine rice and some PF Chang’s chicken egg rolls – perfect! Thanks for another great one Chungah!
You can sear, but honestly it’s not necessary at all. The soy sauce and inherent tastiness of short ribs gives it all the flavor it needs.
Used the recipe exactly except seared in the instant pot, used high pressure for 45 min, natural release, same instructions for corn starch. It was perfection!
Can you make this in the into, if so, what settings and for how long?
Can you use country ribs instead of short ribs?
Amazing everytime
The flavor was AMAZING! Per other comments I added some carrot sticks and quartered shrooms for the last portion of cooking. I was in a hurry and did 4-5 hrs on high but next time will go the full 8 on low. For my modification, I removed the ribs and strained the fat from the sauce with a gravy separator. Added it back with the ribs and veggies, then mixed the cornstarch and water in and pressure cooked for another 10min as my ribs were tasty but not tender as i’d like. As my kid said, delicious. I said, “Damn Delicious!” he said, “DAMN delicious!”<3
By far one of my favorite recipes!! I’ve prepared it for friends and family, and it’s a hit every single time. Well done!
To whoever created this recipe…..THANK YOU!! This is my favorite dish to make….& one of my favorite dishes ever. Only note id add is i season the meat with salt & pepper, then SEAR IT quicky to get some delicious carmelization. Then i slice it & put in pot.
Also, depending on thickness of ribs, i frequently have to cook longer than the 4 hour high heat cook to achieve desired fall off the bone tenderness. BIT ITS ALL WORTH IT…..sooo rich & & tender & succulent…….im going to go make some right now…..:)