Casz's Fiction Farm

I lived in Hawaii for nearly five years. I was exposed to so much yummy, varied food through the diverse culture that lives there. I miss it. Here’s my take on an Island Short Rib recipe that I’ve been trying to perfect and make as healthy as possible.

Ingredients:

•         3 lb beef short ribs – I used the Korean-style aka – flanken-cut type
•         Olive oil spray
•         1 tsp paprika
•         1 tsp black pepper
•         ¼ – 1/2 cup onion, chopped
•         2 tblspn rice wine vinegar (you can use red wine vinegar in a pinch)
•         2 tblspn tomato paste
•         1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce (mine is sugarless, too)
•         2 tbsp fish sauce (make sure it’s the sugarless kind)
•         1 tbs coconut sugar (I’ve made this recipe without the coconut sugar and it’s barely noticeable in taste difference, so feel free to remove)

Spice Rub Ingredients:

1 tsp ginger, onion powder, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, cardamon, salt

Directions:

Remove ribs from fridge and allow to warm to room temperature while you prep everything else.

Mix the spice rub together, and rub on ribs.

Spray inside of slow cooker.

Put in chopped onion on bottom, place short ribs on top.

In a small bowl mix remainder of ingredients until smooth. Pour over ribs.

Slow cook on low for six hours or high for three hours.

I steam some rice (or cauliflower rice) with some vegetables in a rice cooker, or as shown above, I sautee some coleslaw mix in a cast iron pan with a little bit of coconut oil until well-wilted. So healthy for you, too and mimics what I often had at the one Island Boys’ lunch truck in Pearl City. So satisfying.