Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 170 °C
- In a bowl, mix hoisin sauce, stock, orange juice, brown sugar, ginger powder, ground black pepper, and cayenne powder.
- Place short ribs to a baking dish.
- Pour braising liquid to the baking dish. Make sure short ribs are coated with mixture. (If not, turn ribs to coat)
- Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
- Cook in oven for 1 hour.
- Turn ribs and cover baking dish. Cook for another 1 hour or until ribs are tender.
- Remove ribs from baking dish.
- Pour braising liquid to a small sauce pan.
- Mix cornstarch and cold water. Stir well until cornstarch dissolves.
- Pour cornstarch mixture to the sauce pan.
- Bring to a quick boil, then simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.
- Drizzle ribs with sauce.
- Serve with rice or roasted potatoes.
Hoisin Braised Pork Short Ribs is a low-and-slow braise that gives the short ribs plenty of time to turn fork-tender, sitting covered in the oven for a full two hours in a sauce built around hoisin’s deep, savory-sweet flavor. Orange juice is the interesting addition here, cutting through hoisin’s richness with a bright, citrusy edge that keeps the braising liquid from tasting flat or one-note sweet, while brown sugar and ginger powder add another layer of warmth underneath.
Covering the dish for the full bake is what keeps the ribs moist through that long cooking time, letting the collagen in the meat slowly break down until it’s tender enough to fall apart rather than needing a knife. Once the ribs come out, the braising liquid itself gets a second life, simmered on the stovetop with a bit of cornstarch until it thickens into a glossy sauce that clings to the meat instead of just pooling underneath it. A touch of cayenne is optional but adds a gentle warmth that plays well against the sweetness of the hoisin and orange juice. Spooned back over the ribs, that reduced sauce turns simple braised short ribs into something richer and stickier, the kind of dish that’s happiest served over rice or roasted potatoes so nothing of that sauce goes to waste.
