Korean-Style Short Ribs

I have a great go-to recipe for braised short ribs. It's in the hearty French tradition. Red wine and hearty herbs.

But a small package of three short ribs in the Manager's Special meat section gave me a chance to try something different. This version has the spicy sweet heat of ginger and chile paste. A different take, but just as delicious. Looks like I have TWO go-to recipes now.

Don't skip the sesame seed powder and green onion garnish. It is a great finishing touch.

Korean-Style Short Ribs
Makes 6-8 servings. (I reduced ingredients for my 3 ribs.)
From Gourmet magazine. (RIP)

1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted and cooled completely
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot-pepper paste)
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
6 pounds beef short ribs or flanken
3 cups water
1 (2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, smashed

Grind sesame seeds to a coarse powder in grinder. Reserve 1/4 cup scallion greens, then whisk together remaining scallions, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, hot-pepper paste, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons sesame-seed powder in a large bowl. Reserve remaining sesame-seed powder for serving.

Add short ribs to soy sauce mixture, rubbing mixture into them. Transfer ribs to a large sealable plastic bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Marinate, chilled, at least 8 hours.

Transfer ribs to a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot and add water and ginger. Simmer, tightly covered, until ribs are very tender, about 3 hours. (I braised mine in a 325° oven.)

Transfer ribs to a platter using tongs and keep warm, covered with foil. Skim fat from sauce and pour sauce through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into a bowl, then discard solids. Serve ribs with sauce in shallow bowls and sprinkle with reserved scallion greens and remaining sesame-seed powder. (We had ours over rice.)

Food/Wine Pairing: The other recipe calls for a big red. Syrah. Malbec. A good Merlot. This one, though, is surprisingly "light." I'm betting it would be delicious with a lighter wine. Like a good-quality rosé. Here's a few definitely worth a try.