Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper (黑椒牛仔骨)

Many of my friends like to order this Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper in Chinese restaurants. The cooking method of beef short ribs is quite unique and new to my Aussie friends. They used to have grilled or baked short ribs that need thicker cuts of course. As for this Chinese stir-fried dish, the thinner the short ribs you use, the better result you’d get. Yet it could be quite hard to find beef short ribs in thin cuts at any supermarkets here, as they might only offer thicker cuts for BBQ or bakery. Then you have to ask the butcher at supermarkets to slice short ribs as thin as you would like if you really want to cook this dish. If you are living in Hong Kong or other Asian regions, you might not have the problem of getting the right thickness of short ribs of course.

To save time and energy to ask for a favour, I found some short ribs from a Korean shop, that were cut for Korean BBQ. They are perfect in size and quality to use in cooking this dish. If you don't like any bones, just buy the quality veal, thinly sliced. It's also awesome in taste.

Ingredients:

• 300 gm beef short ribs (or veal, thinly sliced)
• 1 onion
• 1/2 stalk celery
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced shallot
• 1 tsp freshly grated black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wing
• a dash sesame oil
• black pepper, to taste

Thickening:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse short ribs and wipe them dry. Cut into about 2.5cm (1 inch) in length. Blend in marinade for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a frypan over high heat until lightly brown, about 80% done. Make sure to fry briefly in one single layer, not letting them overlap. Set aside, covered.
2. Heat some oil and sauté onion over medium heat until translucent. Add celery, continue to cook for 3 minutes. Push onion and celery to sides of pan. Add a dash of oil to sauté black pepper, garlic and shallot in the center until aromatic. Stir and combine onion and celery. Pour chicken stock and continue to cook until onion softens. When sauce dries up a bit, toss back short ribs. Turn to high heat. Add thickening, stir quickly and combine well. Cook consistency to your preference. Dish up and enjoy.