Monday, March 26, 2012

Gourmet Crock Pot?

Who knew?
Pick up a Williams-Sonoma cookbook on slow cookers and you're suddenly a gourmet chef!

Wanna' see what I made?  Totally out of my comfort zone too.

I rarely cook (and by rarely, I mean I can make Chinese Chicken Salad) Asian, but we're such Top Chef fans here at Sweet Bee Cottage that I was inspired to try this recipe.

Are you ready?

I made.............
Asian-Style Short Ribs!

Yum!  Very different flavors, but oh so delicious and the best part was that it smelled so divine all day as it cooked.

Here's what you need to make this yourself:

4 lb. of beef short ribs (trimmed of most fat)
salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 cup EACH hoisin sauce and ketchup
2 Tbl rice vinegar
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl Asian fish sauce
1 Tbl honey
1 small onion finely chopped
1 Tbl peeled and minced fresh ginger
5 cloves of garlic, smashed

Daikon Salad for garnish:  (Don't skip this - it gives such a delightful fresh crunch and flavor to the shortribs)
1 lg daikon, peeled and julienned (or shredded on box grater)
2 carrots, peeled and julienned (or shredded on box grater)
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbl peanut oil
1 Tbl rice vinegar

Optional:
2 Tbl chopped roasted peanuts or cashews

How to make it:
1.  Preheat the broiler.  Season the ribs with the salt and pepper, five-spice powder, and place on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.  Broil, turning once, until nicely browned and sizzling on both sides, about 8-10 minutes on each side.

2.  In the slow cooker, stir together the hoisin sauce, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, onion, ginger, and garlic.  All the ribs and turn to coat evenly with the hoisin mixture.  Stack the thicker ribs at the bottom of the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on the low setting for 6 hours.  The meat should be very tender.

3.  Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and serve.  Divide among warm shallow bowls or plates, moisten each serving with some of the braising liquid and top with a large spoonful of the Daikon salad.  Garnish with the chopped nuts and serve at once.

We had this for Sunday dinner.  Sewing Bee was over and so was Strawberry Bee (Baby Bee's BFF). 

 We all loved it!  
One of the best things about this dinner was how it reminded Worker Bee of his dad.  When Worker Bee was in high school his dad decided to take a Chinese cooking class.  All the flavors and smells from this dish prompted him to tell all kinds of stories about his dad.  (Worker Bee's dad passed away in 2004 and we miss him all the time.) 
This is the cookbook I got this recipe from and I made the cover dish!

I hope you give this a try!
Bee adventurous!
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12 comments:

  1. Congrats, this looks like a great meal! Always fun when everyone enjoys it too:@)

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  2. That looks yum! I'll have to look for that cookbook. I do depend on my crockpot at least once a week to be my reliable cook who will stay home and have dinner ready when, with kids and busy family, I'm on the run and not able to cook -- but most of the recipes are pretty basic. This cookbook looks like it might jazz things up.

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  3. YUM! I will be giving this a try. Thanks for sharing.
    Blessings to you.

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  4. Oh... looks delish. And stories to go with? Priceless :) I think I'll need to take a look at that cookbook...

    ~Chris

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  5. Isn't it fun when we try something new and it goes so well? This looks so yummy!
    Blessings,
    Susie

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  6. We love short ribs, so this recipe sounds intriguing. But I must admit that I had to look up daikon. I thought it was a type of radish, and it is. We don't have them in our markets around here. Do you think I could substitute regular radishes? I have lots of them growing in the garden right now.

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  7. Ummm...I can almost smell it! I will have to check the cookbook out. I've been in a rut lately so that sound like lots of inspiration.

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  8. Ummm...I can almost smell it! I will have to check the cookbook out. I've been in a rut lately so that sound like lots of inspiration.

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  9. Hi!! I am so happy to be your newest follower! You have such a sweet and inspiring blog! Oh, I love short ribs!! Thanks for sharing this recipe! Have a blessed week! xo Heather

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  10. Yummy. Good dinner!!! I love slow cooler meals.

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  11. So I have never had luck with my slow cooker... every time I use it my husband says yuck...do not use that again. I may just have to try this. Love your rose chintz.. I have my grandmother's I love it.
    Bristol

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