Flanken-Style Beef Short Ribs with Garlic Ginger Sauce

Flanken Beef Short Ribs are one of the few cuts that can actually take up a lot of flavor from a marinade because it’s so thin. This Garlic Ginger Sauce works as both a sauce or a marinade. So if you plan ahead and want to marinade it’s great, or want to throw it together as a pan sauce on the fly. This is the perfect weeknight dinner that packs a punch.

Flanken Beef Ribs on a plate with Coconut Rice with cilantro, green onions, and sauce.

Table of Contents

What Are Flanken Beef Short Ribs?

Flanken beef short ribs are cut across the bone, giving you thin slices with several cross-sections of bone running through them. They’re tender, quick-cooking, and perfect for soaking up bold flavors. You get that satisfying bone-in experience without the wait of a long braise.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick to get on the table
Flavor bomb, plain and simple
One pan meal
Feels special, even on a Tuesday

What You’ll Walk Away Knowing

How to deglaze a pan
How to build a glossy, emulsified pan sauce

Ingredient List

Flanken Beef Short Ribs: Look for well marbled beef ribs that are about ½ inch thick.

Fish Sauce: Fish sauce is a secret weapon in the kitchen. It’s fermented fish and salt. It smells strong from the bottle and a little goes a long way, but it adds that flavor that takes a recipe from good to great without being able to put your finger on exactly why. I use Red Boat Fish Sauce.

You can substitute oyster sauce and water. Stir ½ tablespoons of oyster sauce with ½ tablespoons of water to get the equivalent of 1 tablespoon fish sauce.

Gochugaru Pepper Flakes: This is a Korean pepper. It’s floral and spicy and I think you should buy some, but if you want to substitute, you can use red pepper flakes. Use half of the amount listed for the gochugaru and then taste to figure out your taste preference.

Butter: Use unsalted butter. For this recipe, you want your butter cold. Don’t take it out of the fridge until you’re ready to use it. We want the butter to slowly melt into the pan sauce so that it emulsifies, instead of just melting into it.

Marinating

This recipe calls for a sauce. If you’d prefer to marinade your ribs, make the sauce as listed and add 3 tablespoons of a neutral oil, such as avocado oil. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Take the ribs out of the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook to let them come to room temperature. Before cooking, pat dry with paper towels so they can char instead of steam.

Deglazing

Deglazing is when you use a liquid to get the cooked on bits of food off of the bottom of a pan. In this case, it is the soy sauce mixture that will do it. Make sure to scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan because they add flavor to the sauce.

When swirling the butter into the sauce, lift the pan off the burner. With the handle directly in front of you, tip to the left side. Rotate the butter around to the top and down the right side. You want to do this gently so it has time to incorporate with the sauce.

Don’t reduce the sauce too much or it will be very salty. We just want it to be a little tighter than it is when originally mixed. If it does taste too salty, add a little more water to thin it down.

Pan Sauce

Adding cold butter to the pan sauce turns it from a thin liquid to a silky sauce. Make sure to swirl it around every nook and cranny then use immediately with your ribs.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Take the beef ribs out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to cook.
Heat a 12-inch large stainless steel or cast iron skillet to medium-high heat.
1. We need a hot pan to get a quick cook to avoid tough meat.
Take your short ribs out of the packaging and use a butter knife to scrape against the bone segments to get off any stray bone shards.
1. You can rinse the meat off at this point, but make sure to dry them thoroughly with paper towels so it doesn’t steam in the pan.

A butter knife starting to scrape bone fragments off of a beef rib.

A butter knife after it's gotten the bone fragments off of the rib.

Mix the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, water, lime juice and zest, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, and gochugaru flakes in a small bowl.
When the pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil (I use avocado)
Sear the flanken ribs for 1-2 minutes of each side giving them room so they don’t steam
Once cooked, remove to a plate to let them rest for 10 minutes while you make the pan sauce
Stir your sauce mixture and pour into the pan. Keep it hot enough to simmer the sauce
Scrape up any brown bits from cooking the ribs
Reduce down for about 5 minutes
Add 1-2 tablespoons of cold butter and swirl it around the pan, by lifting the pan up and rotating it around until it’s infused in the sauce

Butter sliding around the pan and infusing with the pan sauce.

Pour into a ramekin
Assemble your ribs and coat with the sauce and garnish with green onions and cilantro

What to Serve with Beef Ribs

My favorite way to serve Flanken Beef Short Ribs is with Coconut Ginger Rice. The starch can tame some of the heat and the gentle coconut flavor mellows everything together. You can also do lo mein noodles or mashed potatoes.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.

To reheat, I microwave the ribs by themselves for 30 seconds and then add the sauce and microwave for another minute. Don’t reheat too long or it will dry out.

FAQs

How should I cook flanken beef ribs?

They are great using high heat and a fast cook. You get the charred flavor and melt in your mouth meat. They can also be braised. There is really no in between or they’ll be chewy. High heat for 1-2 minutes. Or braised for 1.5 to 2 hours with plenty of liquid to break down the collagen.

Do I cut between the bones or serve them whole?

I serve them whole with a knife and fork. By the end, I pick up the bones and get the meat off with my teeth. It’s a whole sensory experience.

I hope you find this recipe as delicious as I do. Let me know in the comments how you liked it.

Ribs and rice on a plate ready to be served.

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