Have you ever had flanken ribs before? It can be pretty popular in Asian cuisine, such as Korean Kalbi, and I can see why. You marinade it, cook it, and it’s freakin’ delicious! It’s also quite easy to make at home! This Asian Short Ribs / Flanken Beef Ribs Recipe is how I make it at home.
What are flanken ribs?
Flanken style ribs (aka cross cut ribs) are pieces of meat thinly sliced across the rib section of beef bones. Each piece consists of 3-4 small pieces of bone, between sections of flavorful meat. They are marbled with fat and connective tissues, and are super tender after being marinated for a short time.
May folks call this dish “Asian Short Ribs” but it can be easily confused with some other dishes that are cut a different way – so I’m calling it Flanken ribs to clarify the cut.
What to serve with Asian Flanken Beef Ribs?
Since this Asian Flanken Beef Ribs dish is flavorful already, any simple side dish will really go pretty well with it. Some ideas:
- Chinese Green Beans Stir Fry
- Broccoli and Cauliflower Stir Fry
- Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic
- Garlic Broccoli in Air Fryer Recipe
Those are just a few ideas!
Thick Soy Sauce
I do not use regular soy sauce for this recipe. I use Thick Soy Sauce, aka Soy Paste. There’s actually many different types of soy sauce! Thick soy sauce is a lot thicker than your normal soy sauce. It has a richer, sweeter flavor, which is perfect for this dish.
If you can’t find any thick soy sauce, you can actually use regular soy sauce. However, since Thick soy sauce is more sweet, you are now missing a flavor, so I would recommend adding a bit of sugar or sweetener of your choice.
Or even more simple – Oyster sauce can often be used as a substitute because it is similar in texture and it is also salty and sweet at the same time.
By the way you can find these sauces, in your local Asian grocery store or even on amazon here:
Kimlan Soy Paste / Thick Soy Sauce
How to make Flanken Beef Ribs?
There are several ways to make Flanken Beef Ribs, but this Asian Flanken Beef Ribs recipe is the easiest way (only 5 ingredients including cooking oil/fat), and delicious!!
Ingredients
- 1 lb flanken short ribs aka cross cut short ribs
- 1/4 cup Thick Soy Sauce (if you do not have this, you can sub it with 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 2 more tbsp of honey)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cooking oil of choice (if pan frying)
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add flanken short ribs and pour honey, thick soy sauce, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Mix well and let it marinade for at least half an hour (the longer the better!).
Heat up a large cooking pan, and add cooking oil. Let it heat up for 1-2 minutes so that we know the cooking pan is hot.
Add the slices of short ribs and sauce on the cooking pan. Let it cook for about a minute, untouched. Then, using tongs or chopsticks, flip them over to cook the other side for another minute or until cooked thoroughly but still tender and not tough.
Remove ribs from the pan, and then drizzle any remaining sauce and garlic from the pan all over the ribs and serve!
Grill version
You can also grill these delicious ribs, as the important part really was the sauce we put together and the marinating!
All you have to do is set up your gas or charcoal grill over high heat, and once it’s ready, place the ribs on the grate. Then grill for about 4-6 minutes on each side, and then remove and serve!
Air Fryer version
You can also make these flanken ribs in the air fryer! After you marinate it, air fry at 400 degrees F for 3 min and then flip sides and air fry another 3 min.
Asian Flanken Beef Ribs Recipe
Asian Marinated Flanken Beef Ribs pan seared on the stove - this recipe is super easy and super yum! Here's how to make it with 5 ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 lb flanken short ribs aka cross cut short ribs
- 1/3 cup Thick Soy Sauce (if you do not have this, you can sub it with 1/3 cup of soy sauce and 2 more tbsp of honey - *see note section for more info)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cooking oil/fat of choice for pan frying
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add flanken short ribs and pour honey, thick soy sauce, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Mix well and let it marinade for at least half an hour (the longer the better!).
- Heat up a large cooking pan, and add cooking oil. Let it heat up for 1-2 minutes so that we know the cooking pan is hot.
- Add the slices of short ribs on the cooking pan. Let it cook for about a minute, untouched. Then, using tongs or chopsticks, flip them over to cook the other side for another minute or until cooked thoroughly but still tender and not tough
- Remove ribs from the pan, and then drizzle the remaining sauce and garlic in the pan all over the ribs and serve!
Notes
Thick Soy Sauce
I do not use regular soy sauce for this recipe. I use Thick Soy Sauce, aka Soy Paste. There’s actually many different types of soy sauce! Thick soy sauce is a lot thicker than your normal soy sauce. It has a richer, sweeter flavor, which is perfect for this dish.
If you can’t find any thick soy sauce, you can actually use regular soy sauce. However, since Thick soy sauce is more sweet, you are now missing a flavor, so I would recommend adding a bit of sugar or sweetener of your choice.
Or another hack – Oyster sauce can often be used as a substitute because it is similar in texture and it is also salty and sweet at the same time.
Grill version
You can also grill these delicious ribs, as the important part really was the sauce we put together and the marinating!
All you have to do is set up your gas or charcoal grill over high heat, and once it's ready, place the ribs on the grate. Then grill for about 4-6 minutes on each side, and then remove and serve!
Air Fryer version
You can also make these flanken ribs in the air fryer! After you marinate it, air fry at 400 degrees F for 3 min and then flip sides and air fry another 3 min.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 480Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 135mgSodium: 1850mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 37g
The nutrition information for this recipe is an approximate total per serving. Please double check the nutrition information for your exact ingredients and brands for more precise nutrition information.
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Stv
Sunday 16th of October 2022
Unfortunate mine were not tender at all. Very chewy.
TinaTsai
Sunday 16th of October 2022
Oh no! How long did you marinade it? And was it very marbled? I find sometimes if it's too marbled it can be a bit chewy.
larry S
Sunday 15th of May 2022
Fixed these ribs in air fryer and they turned out great. Cooked at 400 degrees F for 3 min and flipped cooked another 3 min.
TinaTsai
Monday 16th of May 2022
That's awesome to hear! Some folks have been asking how to air fry it so this is perfect to know!! I'll add it in the post :)
Kat
Thursday 12th of May 2022
How much corn starch and brown sugar should be added to the regular soy sauce version... This is quite vague. I need details!
TinaTsai
Thursday 12th of May 2022
Hi there! I see you're looking for more directions on my advice if you didn't have thick soy sauce on hand - I actually wrote the original recipe how we usually make it, with thick soy sauce and was just saying you could sub it with those things if you don't have that ingredient, that's why I wasn't super specific on the regular soy sauce directions. But I hope this will help: In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar. Then in another bowl make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tbsp corn starch and 4 tbsp of water. Then combine with the soy sauce brown sugar mix. If it's too thick then add a bit more water.
Shauna Mcmunn
Monday 9th of May 2022
Can these be air fried?
TinaTsai
Monday 9th of May 2022
You can definitely air fry flanken ribs - I've not done it personally, but I did some research and it looks like you would air fry at 400 degrees for 6 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking. If you try it let me know how it goes!
Rob Parrott
Monday 21st of March 2022
I made this tonight, and I’m confused about the sauce. You say to put the ribs in the pan, to cook and when done, remove the ribs and drizzle with the sauce. Should the sauce be added to the pan when cooking the ribs? You only say “Add the slices of short ribs on the cooking pan.” There was only a little fat, no sauce, when I was done cooking the ribs, and I wasn’t going to put the uncooked marinade with raw beef juices on the ribs. Also, when trying to print the recipe, the pan cooking instructions would not print from my iPhone, iPad, or laptop. Just the ingredients and bbq instructions. I marinated them for two hours and the meat didn’t come off the bone at all yet was cooked.
TinaTsai
Monday 21st of March 2022
Yes, the ribs and the sauce should be added to the pan when cooking the ribs - sorry about the confusion! You are correct though - do not put uncooked marinade with raw beef juice on the ribs - that would not be good / safe! I'll definitely make an update to the post to make that part clear. I'm not sure why the pan cooking instructions won't print though, it does work on my end, and so far you're the first person to have mentioned that to me... Have you tried using the "Print" button on the recipe card? It works differently than just printing the page (it shows up in a consolidated recipe card format). As for the meat, contrary to other types of ribs where you do want it falling off the bones, this flanken rib is not really meant to be falling off the bones, some folks even like tearing off the meat from the bones (I don't - but it's definitely a thing... they prefer it 'chewy').