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. Even on the busiest of days, you can make dinner happen so fast. Just dump everything in your slow cooker morning of – no searing, no browning here.
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.
And this marinade is simply out-of-this-world amazing using just a handful of pantry staples – soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. Serve over rice with some kimchi and cucumbers and all the leftover sauce, please. It’s weeknight friendly, and will make your heart sing.
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.
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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Unfortunately I agree with Nelson. It smelled so good, but the finished flavor was surprisingly bland given what went into it. I even added some gochujang to the liquid before cooking.
I think browning the meat beforehand, adding more spices/dry ingredients, and cutting half the liquid would improve it.
I am wondering if anyone has had a problem with excess oil at the end, I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with about a half inch of oil at the top of my crock pot
Michael, it’s completely normal – you can actually just skim off the fat as needed.
Made today, and so good! Falling off the bone, flavorful, tender good! My husband loved loved it! And the sauce makes a wonderful gravy. I love the Asian flavor, but it’s not overwhelming – just rich, beefy flavor.
Thank you for sharing such a great, easy recipe.
I’m making this right now, what is your preferred method for adding the cornstarch slurry? With the meat in or out? I want to do it exactly like you.
Either works! 🙂
Truly awful recipe I tried it and it tasted like a pot roast. there is no need for the beef broth or brown sugar. If you wanted it to taste more authentic use white sugar and it requires more sesame oil.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
Agreed. After over $40 we wound up with pot roast. Followed recipe to a “T”. Very little flavor. Apologized to dinner guests.
These look so easy and delicious! Just to clarify… I assume the short ribs are removed from the slow cooker before the cornstarch mixture is added? And only the liquid/sauce cooks on high the last 30 minutes?
You can really do it either way – it’s up to you!
I tried this recipe and found the sauce too salty for me but the ribs were delicious and tasty. The next time, I used an unsalted beef stock and the Kroeger Low Sodium Soy Sauce, which had the lowest sodium content I could find. I also used a chuck roast instead, that I happened to have on hand. Wow, did I like the result! This will become a regular dish at our house.
I made these tonight and they were AMAZING! My hubby and kids loved it! I added potatoes and carrots to it.On the side I made the Panda Express chow Mein, also very delicious. Thank you for all the good recipes.
Oh and I read comments about being to greasy so I trimmed the short ribs from the fat. They turned out just perfect!
Can I use a cheap cut of beef such as a 7 bone roast or chuck.
Rona, you can actually try this recipe instead!
https://damndelicious.net/2015/02/21/slow-cooker-korean-beef/
this recipe is very tasty, i tried it just now, the only thing i didn’t like was how greasy mine turned out. But I think I’ll lessen the amount of sesame oil next time. It tastes exactly like the korean galbi dish i usually order at the korean restaurant!
When the ribs are done, use a “fat mop” to get rid of excess fat. I use mine all of the time when there is excess fat on the top. Pampered Chef sell one I believe, but I’m sure you could get one at any kitchen store. They truly are worth their weight in gold. You just run it over the top of whatever you are making, then squeeze the fat into a fat jar. Soooo easy. This way you don’t have to decrease the amount of sesame oil.
How do you think pork ribs would taste with this recipe? Do you think the cool time would be the same? I wanted to make this for someone but they told me they would prefer pork…
That sounds amazing! But without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Thanks for this recipe. We have been living in South America and craving Asian flavors. They have an abundance of beef down here. This hit the spot just right! Such simple ingredients too! I cooked it in the oven on low for all day and the meat came out perfectly and sauce was delicious over rice. Loved it.
this sounds amazing! could regular soy sauce be used? Perhaps with low sodium broth?
Yes, absolutely, but you may want to reduce the amount of soy sauce, as needed.
I forgot the sesame seeds. Will this impact the taste?
There shouldn’t be a noticeable difference. 🙂
If your dish is to fatty do steps 1 thru 3, refrigerate over night. next day skim solidified fat from crock pot ,reheat on high and continue with remaining steps.
This is SO GOOD! This was my first foray into beef short ribs. Two questions: Can you ask your butcher for less fatty short ribs, or is that just how they are? Can you make this recipe with a leaner beef cut — perhaps some type of roast — and achieve the same flavor profile? Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Yes, you can certainly ask your butcher for less fatty ribs but in all honesty, this is almost how it really is. That’s what makes it so good! 🙂
I’m sure a different cut of meat can be used but unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Made these this past week and got rave reviews! I’ll put this into my monthly rotation. Thanks!
How would you suggest going about cutting the ribs into the required two-inch pieces? If cooking in the oven, could you leave them whole and how long would you suggest cooking them?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot advise approximate cooking time. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Also, I honestly find it easiest to ask your local butcher to cut the ribs for you – it will save you a lot of time and hassle!
WOW! Just tried the Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs and it came out absolutely wonderful. The meat was falling off the bones and tasted like heaven…definitely a MUST try
Yes!