Beef Short Ribs Adobo

Beef Short Ribs Adobo

serves 4 to 6
3 pounds beef short ribs
salt
canola oil
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 cups water
1 cup cane vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
3 bay leaves

Notes:

• It shouldn’t matter if your short ribs are flanken (cut across the bone, as in the pictures), or English-style (cut parallel to the bone).
• The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground pepper, but I’d rather double the amount and use whole berries to keep the broth from getting too gritty.
• Replace the 2 cups of water with either 2 cups of chicken stock or 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup of coconut milk as suggested in the original recipe. I used water since there’s no chicken stock to be found in the fridge and I wanted the delicate broth produced from braising the short ribs to come through.
• Experiment with different types of vinegar such as sherry, apple cider, or rice. Try to get a bottle of Datu Puti brand cane vinegar if you have access to a Filipino or Southeast Asian grocery. This is the only type of vinegar our household ever used for adobo.