This Instant Pot Korean Short Ribs recipe is from Michelle Tam at nom nom paleo. I just adjusted cooking times to account for a freezer meal portion of it. Her blog has some amazing paleo style healthy recipes and she also has some great cookbooks that I often refer clients to! I especially love her Instant Pot recipes.
These tender, melt in your mouth, short ribs, braised in a delicious sweet and spicy sauce are a dinner dream!
The fact that this can be made as a freezer meal with no cooking required, and then it can be cooked FROM FROZEN straight in the Instant Pot just takes it to the next level...Dinner Bliss.
How to Meal Prep Korean Short Ribs
What I like to do when I make this dish is double up on ingredients. I make one portion to cook and serve that day, and while I'm prepping that, I also prep a freezer meal portion. Work once, eat twice.
Check out this video to see how Korean Short Rib meal prep is done.
Freezer meals are just such a great way to consistently eat healthy, delicious food.
Even on the nights when you know you won't be able to cook. I can promise that you will not be disappointed to bust this out of your freezer after a long day with no dinner plans. It's even a great meal for entertaining guests because all the work is done for you and you can just hang out with your guests and then serve them a delicious, impressive and healthy meal.
If you're not feeling red meat tonight, check out our Golden Healing Chicken Soup freezer meal recipe.
What pairs well with Korean Short Ribs:
Rice or cauliflower rice (buy the frozen precooked version -you can get it at TJ,s and Whole Foods- if you really want to save time)
Cilantro
Kimchi (this is my favorite brand and I love the daikon radish one)
Sliced Scallions
Sesame seeds
Pickled cucumbers or sliced cucumbers
Sliced avocado
Grated carrots tossed in lime juice and olive oil
A green salad
Roasted shitake mushrooms
Sauteed spinach
Are Korean Short Ribs Healthy?
Short ribs are a higher fat cut of meat.
Ok, so we have established that these short ribs are delicious and easy. But, let's talk a little bit about what they are doing for us. One thing to note is that they are a higher fat cut of meat which means higher calories. However, it's important to keep your diet varied. This means eating a large variety of plant based foods but it also means keeping your protein sources varied.
It's important to vary your protein sources.
We often see clients eating a lot of chicken breast, day after day because they know this is a lean protein. Eating the same thing every day is not only boring, but increases the likelihood that you are not giving your body the wide spectrum of nutrients that it needs to thrive! Each specific food contains different nutrients and an optimal diet includes a wide variety of foods.
Short Ribs contain glycine and proline, which help your body build collagen.
Short ribs (as well as other cuts of meat that are typically braised) contain a high amount of glycine and proline, which are amino acids that help your body build collagen. This is great for muscle and tissue repair. Whether you are an athlete, recovering from an injury, or just had a baby, this is what you need! Also, because the ribs are attached to the bones and then braised in liquid (that delicious blended sauce), you are also getting all those amazing nutrients from the bone marrow and bones. This includes minerals like zinc, iron, selenium, potassium and magnesium.
Lastly, short ribs and other tough cuts of meat require long but gentle cooking methods to make them more tender. The braising/slow cooking process gently breaks the meat down while still retaining much of the nutrients. One thing to note is that slow-cooking meats causes loss of some B vitamins into the cooking fluid. Use the fluid to make a sauce and this problem is solved.
Instant Pot Korean Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 5 pounds short ribs
- 1 apple or pear, peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 green onions, roughly chopped
- 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
Instructions
- Add all marinade ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Pat short ribs dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Place ribs in freezer safe container and pour marinade all over, making sure they are fully coated. Freeze!
- From frozen, add everything to Instant pot insert and add 1/2 cup broth of choice (I did beef broth). Cook on high pressure for 75 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the ribs from the sauce. Skim the fat from the top of the sauce using a turkey baster or big spoon. Discard fat.
- Serve ribs with a nice spoonful of sauce over them along with garnishes and sides of your choosing. Here we served it with precooked frozen rice, chopped scallions, sesame seeds, kimchi, sliced cucumbers and shredded carrots.