Thank Nyesha Arrington for this inspiration ❤️!

When I was searching Tastemade for some new cooking inspirations, I came across her Short Rib Dumplings and I was immediately drawn in because she focused on recreating one of her grandmother’s Korean recipes. My grandmother definitely influenced my love for delicious food and I remember many Sunday afternoons when I would spend hours in my grandmother’s kitchen as her sous chef. Nyesha shared the same memory, which I’m sure many home chefs and professional chefs can attest to ❤️

My take on the recipe is different since I plan to make a ragu with pappardelle vs the dumplings created with the homemade pasta sheets. Short rib ragu and pappardelle is a common pairing, so it seemed like a good fit 😉

Korean food is a favorite in our household, with it’s spicy, tangy, salty, umaminess. The ingredients used in their dishes completely fit in my wheelhouse; green onions, garlic, ginger, spicy Korean chili pasta (i.e. gochujang), fish sauce and soy sauce; which is why I love cooking Korean recipes.

Short ribs are a labor of love and this recipe is no different (I actually started this dish on Sunday afternoon and after 6hrs of simmering, I threw in the towel and we made sandwiches for Sunday dinner 😉). You could also make this in the Instant Pot or Crock Pot to shrink the time, but I went with the stove top which certainly takes more time.

Korean Short Rib Ragu with Pappardelle

Prep time ~1hr

Cook time ~7-8hrs

Ingredients

• 3-4lbs of short ribs which should equate to six short ribs
• 2 sweet white onion
• 4 green onions
• 1 Asian pear. If you can’t find an Asian pear, a regular pear will do.
• 2 carrots
• 2TBS if mirin
• 2TBS of cooking oil
• 8 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/2 inch of ginger, with the skin removed and chopped
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 2TBS of Gochujang or Korean Chili Flakes, I used 1TBS of each
• 2 cups of beer or water, I used a light lager
• 1 handful of cilantro, cleaned and remove the leaves and chop
• Salt and pepper, to get the initial sear

Instructions

1. Begin by preparing your marinade, blending one onion with your pear. Blend until you create a smooth paste and transfer into a small bowl. Combine the mirin to the onion and pear until well combined and then set aside. This marinade will help create a thicker stock.

2. Now prepare your second onion and your carrots, dicing each into small bites. Slice your green onions thinly on a diagonal and separate the white bottoms from the green tops. Set the green tops aside in small dish for garnishing later. Smash and chop your garlic and ginger.

3. Next begin developing those delicious flavors. Generously salt and pepper your short ribs, while heating your cooking oil in a large-ish pot on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add your short ribs to the pot and begin to sear your meat on each side, be careful not to overcrowd your pot. Once your short ribs have an initial sear, remove some of the oil from your pot. Short ribs are high in fat and during cooking much of that fat will melt away and you definitely don’t need the extra cooking oil.

4. Once the oil has been removed, add your marinade and continue searing. After a few minutes, add your diced onions, the whites from the green onions and the carrots to the pot. Continue to sear your meat and allow your vegetables to caramelize, this is really where your flavors will begin to develop.

5. Once the short ribs are seared and your vegetables are caramelized, add your garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Gochujang/Korean Chili Flakes, and the beer or water and stir together. Bring the pot to a boil.

6. When the pot comes to a boil, reduce the heat and begin to simmer for 7-8hrs or until the meat is fork tender. The amoras in your house will be incredible during the cooking.

8. Once your short ribs are done, allow the pot to cool a bit. Once the short ribs have cooled enough to handle, begin to shred. Reintroduce the shredded short rib to your stock and continue to simmer. Now, you’ve created your ragu.

9. Meanwhile, begin boiling water in another pot and make sure you salt your water well because pasta craves salt. Add you pasta to the boiling water and cook as directed. Once the pasta has a rapid boil, reserve some of the pasta water. This will be used to thicken your sauce later. Once the pasta is done, drain completely and return to the pot.

10. Add your ragu to the pappardella. Since I’m looking to save some the ragu for meals later in the week, I will only combining a small portion of the ragu.

11. Fold most of the cilantro into your ragu. The remaining cilantro will be used for garnishing.

12. If needed, add a small bit of pasta water to thicken the ragu and combine together.

13. Serve hot, in a bowl garnished with the green onion tops and cilantro 😋 Enjoy!