Chinese Braised Beef Short Ribs (Stovetop Recipe)

Make these Chinese stovetop braised beef short ribs tonight – sticky, glossy, and impossible to stop eating. Even better the next day!

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Asian Beef Short Ribs?

Mini rant coming up.

I get this question a lot on socials and in my classes: “Why do recipes say Asian when they mean Chinese?”

Honestly… same. It’s everywhere. “Asian beef short ribs.” “Asian-style ribs.” “Asian glaze.”

What does that even mean? Asia is massive. It’s not one flavour profile, one pantry, one anything. I’m Asian, but I’m not Chinese. And my food doesn’t magically become Chinese because someone’s thrown soy sauce at it.

Call me pedantic but we are calling these what they are: Chinese Beef Short Ribs. The aromatics, the braise, the whole personality of this dish – it’s Chinese-style. Clear, accurate, no umbrella terms. If you’re here for Chinese braised short ribs, you’re in exactly the right place. If you’re here for Asian beef short ribs, also stick around, because well, it’s the same thing.

Rant done. For now.

Chinese Beef Short Ribs

These Chinese braised beef short ribs are rich, glossy, and deeply savoury, with that soy-and-Shaoxing depth wrapped around warming whole spices like star anise and cinnamon.

We’re cooking it low and slow, so the meat turns incredibly tender, almost spoon-soft at the edges, while the sauce reduces into a sticky, shiny glaze that’s salty, gently sweet, and ridiculously good.

It’s fragrant, bold, and once served, all you’ll hear is crickets as everyone will be too busy enjoying it to say a word.

And before you ask: no, this isn’t “just another beef stew.” It’s Chinese-style braised short ribs – glossy, savoury-sweet, deeply spiced, and made for rice.

Cooking Chinese Beef Short Ribs

This is what we’ll be doing:

1. Brown the ribs.
2. Fry the spices and dried chillies for 30 seconds (I skipped the chillies in the video).
3. Add the aromatics, then the 5-spice powder.
4. Pour in the sauces, followed by the ribs, coat everything well.
5. Add the stock, then simmer, covered, for 2 – 3 hours, low and slow, remember?
6. Reduce, and skim the fat off if you want.

We want to keep an eye on:

• the heat: you want a lazy simmer, not a rolling boil
• liquid level: top up with a splash of water if needed
• turning the ribs: helps even cooking and glazing and ensures “the top” doesn’t feel dry

Asian Beef Short Ribs Ingredients

Like all good old recipes, everyone’s going to have their own little addition (or subtraction) to this recipe. Let’s take a look at what some of the main ingredients we’ve got in this recipe, and possible variations.

Beef Short Ribs

Given the name of the recipe, we are looking for short ribs. They are ideal because they’re fatty, collagen-rich, and built for slow cooking.

For these Chinese-style braised short ribs, you want big, chunky pieces that can take a long simmer without drying out.

• Best size: about 5-7 cm (2-3 inches) long per piece
• How to cut: ideally between the bones so each piece is one bone with a thick cap of meat (or two bones if they’re smaller) – this would be done by your butcher, or sold ready cut
• Thickness: whatever the rack naturally is, but roughly 3-5 cm (1¼–2 inches) thick is perfect

Avoid super-thin flanken-style cross-cut ribs (those 1 cm / ½ inch slices) for this dish – they cook fast, can go stringy, and don’t give you that collagen-melting, glossy-braise payoff.

If you’re buying from a butcher, ask for: “English-cut beef short ribs, cut into 2–3 inch pieces.”

Is it called English cut everywhere?

The cut is broadly the same, but the name isn’t universal.

• “English-cut short ribs” is a very common term in the US/Canada for ribs cut parallel to the bone, into chunky blocks (usually 1 bone per piece, sometimes 2).
• In a lot of places, you’ll just see them labelled “beef short ribs” and you may need to specify how you want them cut.
• In the UK, you might see (or be offered) short ribs, Jacob’s ladder, beef ribs or plate ribs – and the butcher may not say “English-cut,” but they’ll understand:
  “Cut between the bones into 5-7 cm (2–3 inch) chunks, one bone per piece.”
• In Korean/Chinese markets, you’ll often see flanken-style (thin cross-cut strips across several bones). That’s not what you want for a long, glossy braise.

If you want a foolproof way to ask anywhere in the world, say:
“I want chunky short ribs cut between the bones, not thin cross-cut/flanken.”

There you go. Don’t say I don’t spoil you.

Aromatics

• onions (although some would opt for spring onions/scallions)
• ginger
• garlic
• whole dried chilli for just a little warmth – I’m not using this in the video because I plain forgot!

Sauces

We use a combination of soy sauces, so much so that some people call them soy braised short ribs.

• light soy sauce gives our sauce its salty base
• dark soy sauce imparts colour and deeper flavour
• hoi sin sauce is kind of the star of the sauce – it’s mostly responsible for that signature sweet, savoury umami identity of our recipe.
• tomato ketchup – adds a tangy sweetness

Together, these guys create and addictive, finger-licking mad, mad, sauce!

Shaoxing Wine (and alternative)

Shaoxing wine gives our Chinese short ribs that unmistakable Chinese braised aroma. If you can get it, use it. But if you can’t or don’t do alcohol, see below.

Substitutes:

• dry sherry (closest)
• sake (works, slightly different)
• alcohol free – half teaspoon clear vinegar

Spices

Classic whole spices for Chinese braised beef short ribs:

• star anise
• cinnamon stick
• sometimes I drop half a tsp of Sichuan peppercorns