Beef short ribs braised in green mango jam

I did this recipe last year using chicken–one of those that got deleted in the infamous database disaster last December. Chicken thighs braised in green mango jam. I couldn’t repost the chicken recipe because I really can’t remember the exact steps in making it. It was a kind of cook-as-you-go-along dish. The only thing I was sure of was using the green mango jam that I discovered at Tiendesitas last year. I decided to recreate the dish, with my usual cook-as-you-go-along procedure, but this time using beef short ribs. And because it is summer–mango season–I served the braised beef short ribs with slices of fresh ripe mangoes.

Below is a photo of the chicken dish I did last year.

Ingredients :

750 g. of beef short ribs, boiled until tender then cooled (preferably chilled)
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 c. of butter
4 tbsps. of green mango jam
salt and pepper to taste
fresh ripe mangoes, to serve
chopped tarragon leaves for garnish (optional)

The beef short ribs should be cut to serving pieces. It is better to have this done by your butcher since the size of the bones will likely ruin the best chef’s knife or cleaver in a home kitchen. In the supermarket, the bones of beef short ribs are cut by machine. I prefer them like that because the clean cuts do not leave shards that can get caught between your teeth or, worse, in your throat.

So, boil the beef short ribs, seasoned or unseasoned, until very tender. Lift them from the broth and cool. It’s best to chill them for a few hours in the fridge to firm them up–that should make them easier to handle during the pan frying stage.

Take the short ribs out of the fridge when you’re ready to start cooking them in the green mango jam.

Melt the butter in a large shallow cooking pan. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the chilled beef short ribs and cook until the edges are lightly browned. Pour in about half a cup of water and add the green mango jam. Season with salt and pepper (you may need to season with salt liberally if the short ribs were not seasoned earlier). Cook, stirring, until the jam dissolves then leave uncovered over low heat until almost dry.

To serve, place hot rice on an individual bowl. Slice the meat of a ripe mango and arrange, fan-like, on top of the rice, towards one side of the bowl. Place a few pieces of the braised short ribs on the other side. Sprinkle with chopped tarragon leaves and serve at once.

[tags]beef+recipe, recipes, food+blog, cooking+blog, Food+and+Drink, Filipino+food[/tags]