by Karen Frazier

Okay – here’s the deal. I had leftover marinade from my earlier pork belly recipe, but alas, I had no unfrozen pork belly. Not to worry, however. I have about 10 pounds of it in my freezer (yay!)

So anyhoo…I wanted to use the rest of the marinade. Which is why I headed to the grocery store and picked up some flanken-style beef short ribs (the kind of beef short ribs where they are cut thin across several bones).

I marinated them in my extra marinade for a little over two hours, and then I popped them on my Foreman grill, which I consider a very underrated kitchen gadget. You can also grill them on the regular grill or use a grill pan.

Although the marinade was the same, the flavor was very different from the pork belly. The beef was super flavorful. As I was eating, I realized the ribs would be delish with a ginger broccoli stir-fry, but it’s also good with a crispy, slightly sweet, slightly acidic slaw (or why choose? you can do both!) I’ll include recipes for both, and you can decide.

Asian Marinated Flanken-Style Beef Short Ribs

• 1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce
• 2-3 drops of liquid stevia
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 8 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger root
• 2 to 3 pounds flanken-style beef short ribs
• Sesame seeds

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, stevia, sriracha, garlic, sesame oil, and ginger root.
2. Add the short ribs to a large zipper bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and squish it around (I believe squish is a technical term) until all the meat is covered. Refrigerate for two to four hours. The longer the marinade, the more flavor you’ll get. You can even marinade in the morning and cook when you get home.
3. Preheat a grill on high.
4. Grill the short ribs, three to four minutes per side.
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Broccoli Ginger Stir-Fry

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger root
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. In a large saute pan, heat the coconut oil on medium-high until it shimmers.
2. Add the ginger and broccoli and cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about five minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the soy sauce. Cook for one minute, stirring frequently.

Apple and Jicama Slaw

• 2 sweet-tart apples (I like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady), cored and julienned
• 1 Jicama, peeled and julienned
• Juice of two limes
• Zest of half a lime
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger root
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. In a large bowl, combine the apples and jicama.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, ginger root, rice vinegar, cilantro, olive oil, and sea salt.
3. Toss the dressing with the apples and jicama.

So those are the recipes. Trust me, they’re delicious! But, I just thought of something else that would be really delicious with the short ribs…a bok choy stir-fry, cooked in a manner similar to the broccoli above. You might even toss in a handful of sliced shiitake mushrooms for a tasty low-carb side dish.