Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs in Soy Apple Sauce

 

Slow-cooked beef short ribs in a sweet, tangy and savoury soy apple sauce – rich, tender, and beautifully easy to make. Follow the step-by-step guide below 

About this Slow-Cooked Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Beef short ribs are a delicacy for good reason. The meat around the bones is tender, juicy, and full of flavour. The rich collagen and fat make every bite melt in your mouth.

It is amazing how a recipe with just a few ingredients turns out this good. Slow-cooked in sweet and savoury soy apple sauce, your kitchen will smell incredible, and the taste definitely lives up to it. 

Stack the ribs on mashed potato, stuff them in a sandwich or burger, serve with rice, or even over noodle soup – the options are endless!

These braised beef ribs are easy to incorporate into your weekly meals – cook them once, then simply reheat or freeze them as needed.

Braised beef short ribs with Soy Apple Sauce

 Why Add Apple to Braised Beef Spare Ribs?

You might not expect apples in a beef dish, but they totally work in this recipe.

Here is why:

• The sweet-tangy flavour and fruity scent make the sauce amazing – no extra sugar needed.
• They help tenderise the meat as it slow-cooks.
• They naturally thicken the sauce for that perfect rich finish.

Ingredients for this Chinese Braised Beef recipe

Ingredients for slow-cooked beef short ribs with soy apple sauce

Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce and Rice Wine

• Beef: I use short ribs for this recipe, but any cut that’s good for slow cooking works just as well – such as beef shank, beef cheeks, brisket, oxtails and more.
• Apple: I tested both regular apples and Granny Smith apples for this recipe. The regular ones turned out a bit too sweet for my taste, while the green apples have the perfect sweet-and-sour balance. I use half an apple, blended with 1/2 cup of water to make a gravy-like mixture that blends beautifully into the sauce.
• Spices: I throw in one star anise, a small cinnamon stick, and a couple of bay leaves. These spices are strong, so I keep it light – just enough to give the beef some amazing layers of flavour without taking over.
• Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce adds saltiness, while dark soy sauce gives the brown colour and a slightly caramelised flavour. If you don’t have the dark soy sauce, you can skip it. Please note that saltiness can vary by brand, so adjust the amount to suit your taste.
• Water: The amount of water depends on how you slow-cook the beef, the heat, and how much evaporates during the cooking process. As a general rule, add water to the ribs, leaving 1–2 cm below the meat, as the beef will shrink during cooking. If it starts to dry out, top up with a little more. At the end, reduce the liquid to create a thick, gravy-like sauce.