Confit Short Ribs and Stir-Fried Beef with Mint

New

Winter Weekend project

Serves 4

Prep 15 min

Cook 3hr 30 min + 5 min stir fry

This is a two part recipe. The first: a kind of ‘confit’ short rib you could serve with mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or even just a green salsa. It’s not a traditional confit, but it works in the same way - the ribs are cooked slowly, packed tightly together so the fat renders out and they gently cook in their own juices. The fat can be saved for other dishes (roast potatoes, or any roast veg), and the ribs can be spiced however you like (or left plain).

Here, I’ve taken that confit short rib and made a quick, fiery stir fry that takes minutes. The soft beef is tossed in a hot pan with ginger, garlic, chilli, and herbs until the edges turn crisp and caramelised. It’s the kind of thing that hits every note - rich, spicy, aromatic - and feels like a real reward after all the slow cooking.

Ingredients

CONFIT SHORT RIBS
6	short ribs (approx 1.8kg)
1 tsp	ground white pepper
½ tsp	turmeric powder (optional)
½ tsp	ground star anise (optional)
½ tsp	ground cinnamon (optional)
	Fine sea salt
STIR FRY
2 tbsp	beef fat from the confit, or olive oil
20g	mint leaves
1kg	confit short ribs, cut into 3 cm chunks, excess fat and gristle removed
3	garlic cloves, finely minced
25g	ginger, peeled and finely minced
1	red chilli, thinly sliced into rings (deseeded if you don't like it too spicy) (10g)
1	shallot, thinly sliced into rings (50g)
2 tbsp	fish sauce
2 tsp	sugar
2 tsp	lime juice
10g	coriander leaves
10g	Thai basil leaves
¼ tsp	ground white pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 140C fan.
For the confit, season the short ribs with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and all the spices. Pack tightly into a roasting dish (mine was 25cmx18cm), bone side up. Cover tightly with foil and cook for 3 ½ hours, or until the bones slide out with ease. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, slide out and discard the bones. Pour the melted fat into a heatproof container. Set both aside (in the fridge) until ready to use.
For the stir fry, heat a large non-stick frying pan over maximum heat. Add the fat to the pan, and when melted and hot, add half of the mint leaves. Stir fry for about 30 seconds or until the mint is crispy. Remove the mint from the pan and drain on a paper towel, leaving the fat in the pan.
Place the pan back over maximum heat, then add the beef. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, until the beef is crispy and browned on the outside. Add in the garlic, ginger, chilli, and ½ the shallot, and stir fry for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, then quickly add in the fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice, and stir to combine. Immediately add the remaining shallot and all the herbs (including the fried mint) and give everything a quick stir. Pour everything onto your serving platter and sprinkle over the white pepper. Serve immediately.