These sweet and sticky Instant Pot Asian Beef Short Ribs are ultra tender and ready in a flash thanks to the pressure cooker.
After falling in love with my Instant Pot Baby Back Pork Ribs (we seriously make them several times each month), I decided to give beef short ribs a try in the pressure cooker.
I’m smitten.
Beef short ribs are fantastic because they’re thick and marbled with delicious fats, which creates a lot of flavor in a small bite. I gave the ribs a quick rub down with some simple spices like ground ginger, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then I placed them on the rack inside my Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Asian Beef Short Ribs
Why do I place them on the rack instead of straight on the bottom of the instant pot liner? Well, I like to have the ribs cook without being boiled. I feel like boiling the ribs makes them lose a lot of their flavor. With the liquid underneath the ribs, they have a chance to maintain their meaty flavor.
Place one cup of water underneath the ribs and pop the lid on. Cook the ribs on Manual High Pressure for 30 minutes with 10 minutes of Natural Pressure Release before opening the valve and letting the pressure release completely.
Meanwhile you’ll want to mix together the delicious sweet and slightly spicy Asian-inspired sauce on the stove top.
The sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and chili garlic sauce. It’s simmered on the stove top and thickened with a little cornstarch before slathering the tender beef short ribs.
Brush the ribs all over with the thickened sauce and pop under the broiler for a minute or two per side and you’re done!
Man oh man, these ribs were to die for! The whole house smelled amazing as they were cooking, and even my kids couldn’t wait to eat them!
The pressure cooker does all the hard work of making these ribs ultra tender in a fraction of the time.
You’re going to be blown away!
I finished them off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and diced green onions. We serve these with a side of steamed white rice and a green vegetable.
Our favorites are these Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli or Asparagus.
I know you’re going to LOVE these sweet and sticky ribs!
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Instant Pot Asian Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. Beef Short Ribs
- 1 tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, black pepper, salt
For the Sauce:
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp minced ginger, fresh or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic, fresh or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, found in the Asian aisle of the grocery store
- 2 tbsp corn starch
For Garnish:
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp chopped green onions
Instructions
- Place the rack into the insert of your pressure cooker and pour in 1 cup of water. Combine 1 tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, black pepper and salt and rub this mixture all over the beef ribs. Place the beef ribs on the rack, so they are above the water underneath.
- Put the lid on, make sure the valve is in the sealed position, then cook on Manual HIGH Pressure for 30 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes (do not open the valve for 10 minutes after the 30 minute cook time is over). Once it's released naturally for 10 minutes, finish with a quick release (open the valve).
- Meanwhile combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the broiler on in your oven and place the beef short ribs on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush the sauce on all sides of the ribs and broil for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until the sauce becomes glossy and sticky. Garnish with the sesame seeds and green onions if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Jo
Didn’t care for the flavor at all. The biggest problem was all that cornstarch! Hardly any liquid! Wasted a bunch good ribs. I don’t recommend. Way too salty as well. Pressure time was fine.
Shawn
I would recommend using low sodium soy sauce if you felt it was too salty. Also, you can reduce the amount of cornstarch to make the sauce less thick.
kawaiiko
great recipe! i used mirin instead of the vinegar / sugar & used 1/3 of the amount of soy, since i didn’t have any low sodium on hand. thank you!
KT
The turned out tender and delicious! I cheated, and used a store bought Asian ginger sauce only because we had it, but when we don’t, I’ll give the sauce a whirl. Thank you for sharing your recipe! 🙂
Suzy
I followed the directions exactly and was so disappointed. The sauce was so so salty it was almost inedible. A few others have said the same, and low salt soy sauce was suggested. If that’s the case why not put that in the original recipe in the first place?
Would have helped to know this before wasting all those ingredients and the time spend to make this.
Mike Aldrich
These are a huge hit in my house. Make them all of the time, including tonight for my wife and her 3 friends.
The only thing is, you say that it is 45 minutes total for the recipe. In reality, it is is about 1:05.
15 minutes of prep.
30 minutes of cooking
10 minutes of waiting for instapot to release pressure
10 minutes of broiler time
Tony V
We made this last night and it was absolutely delicious! My other short rib recipes call for first seasoning and browning the short ribs on all sides, but we followed this recipe exactly and it turned out great. We especially liked the idea of cooking the ribs on a rack, so most of the fat falls into the water. The sauce was super tasty. This will definitely be one of our staple recipes for company. Thanks for the recipe.
Amy
We enjoy this recipe. It’s easy and tasty. I need to print out recipes though, and this one turns out to be 3 full size pages – too much. The text could easily fit on a page. I’d love it if you could format it to a smaller size and not waste so much paper.
Shawn
Make sure you are using the “Print Recipe” button when printing recipes. This will print ONLY the recipe, not the whole blog post. Glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Doug
flavors are great but this is so much better if you sear the meat before pressure cooking.
Heather
I made this dish and it was delicious. I also used some of the juices from the instapot with the sauce ingredients, and I broiled mine a bit longer but my whole family ate these up! So delicious.
Jennelle
How spicy?? I’m a tender mouth and so are my babies, but I personally love the pepper flavor of course.
Shawn
The majority of the spice is coming from the chili garlic sauce. If you want to tame it down, you can either reduce or completely remove this ingredient.
Aaron
The sauce is amazing.. making wings tonight and ribs tomorrow… (Cooking for one) I will say this. Once the sauce starts to thicken.. it get thick real quick..
Shawn
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Aaron!
M
Ribs were so tough. And sauce was very salty. Not sure what happened.
Steve Paul Clelland
Try using low sodium soy sauce. Or use 1/2 cup reg soy and 1/4 cup veg or beef stock
DAMON
PLEASE ADD ME TO YOUR LIST
Sarah W
Made this tonight and it was great! Added some apple cider vinegar to the water in the IP. Tasted lighter and fresher than your typical braised short ribs that you’d serve over mashed potatoes (i served with brown rice and green beans). I would definitely make this again!
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Sarah!
Ali
Hi! I don’t have an instant pot. Is there anyway I could do this in a slow cooker? If so do I need to modify steps? Do I still add the water? Thanks so much! These look amazing!
Shawn
Hi Ali, I haven’t actually tried it in the slow cooker, so I would guess that it could work, but I have not tested it to be sure. I would sear the ribs on the stove top first, then place them in the slow cooker with a cup of beef broth and cook them on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Then make the sauce and finish it according to the recipe. I hope that helps!
Mickayla
I want to try these but wondering if you put the ribs in completely thawed or frozen in the beginning! Thanks!
Shawn
The ribs should be thawed. Enjoy!
Tracy Nolte
Great recipe! Tried it with country ribs, and the family loved it! Served the ribs with fried riced cauliflower.
Shawn
That’s great to hear! So glad you enjoyed it!
Bryan Crump
Shawn, this was a amazing recipe. My in-laws are Asian, and they thought it was really good. Our sauce ended up being too thick, so next time we’ll try with less corn starch. My ribs were falling off the bone as I was pulling them out off instant pot. Can’t wait to enjoy this recipe again!
Shawn
Aw! Thanks for the awesome comment Bryan. So glad you enjoyed the ribs!
Kathy J
My husband LOVED these beef ribs. They were super tender & had great flavorful! I’ve used the Instant Pot (Yedi) many times, but this by far was the most successful meal I’ve made. Thank you for sharing it.
Shawn
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed them Kathy!
Rebecca
If I wanted to try this recipe and cook the ribs in the oven, what temperature and length of time do you recommend?
Shawn
I would wrap them in foil and then bake them at 300 degrees for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, then remove them from foil and broil for the last few minutes.
trudi
Just to let you know that short ribs take a very long time to cook! it can take 5 hrs or more in the oven!
Shawn
Good to know! I’ve never tried them in the oven, that’s why I love the instant pot because they cook so much faster!
Shurtorra
Can this be done in a slow cooker? I have not gotten on the instant pot bus just yet.
elaine r
I have about 7 lbs of pork loin ribs instead if beef, can I use this recipe?
Shawn
The pork ribs would be awesome with this seasoning too!
Abigail
These sound delicious and I can’t wait to make them. I’d like to double this recipe. Does it need additional cooking time or is it ok to cook for the same amount of time. Also, would the amount of water remain the same?
Shawn
You don’t need to double the cook time, but I would definitely add an additional 10 to 15 minutes to make sure they get nice and tender. You won’t need to double the liquid.
Catherine
These were great! I’m fairly new to the Instant Pot and have had some successes and more than a few failures, usually when I try to adapt a non-IP recipe. I made this recipe with boneless beef chuck short ribs from Costco. It really turned out great. I didn’t have the chili garlic sauce so had to improvise a bit there. Will try to get that for the next time…and there definitely will be a next time. This was very easy to make, excellent results…made a very appealing dinner with rice and quick-sauteed asparagus in sesame oil. Beautiful and delicious! Thank you!
Shawn
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Antra chugh
I just made this recipe and the ribs were amazing. This was my first time making beef short ribs…they were cooked perfectly… moist, delicious and just falling off the bone. The sauce was spot on. The only thing I did differently was switch out the soy sauce with coconut aminos and added a lot more chili paste 🙂 .. thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Susan Rubright
I bought Asian style bbq Beef Short Ribs, at Wegman’s. To be baked in oven. Was wondering, if done in pot in pot in pressure cooker. Should I do 30 minutes with 10 minutes NPR? Or 20 minutes, and 10 minutes NPR?
Shawn
It would depend on the amount of ribs you have to cook. If you’re over 3 pounds of ribs, I would give it 30 minutes with a 10 minute NPR.
Phyllis
If I make this recipe for 2, using 4 shortribs, is the cooking time in the Instant Pot the same?
Shawn
I’m not sure since I’ve never tested the recipe at that size. My gut would say that it should be fine if it cooks at the same time, it’ll just make it more tender.
Kathleen
Can these be made in a crock pot? If so, what changes would you make?
Chloe
Can we use boneless ribs?
Shawn
Yes, that would work too!
Jennie Champagne
chloe, did you shorten the time with the boneless or roughly the same?
Gilly
Love these! I’m making them for the 4th time and will surely make them weekly. I make garlic white rice and it’s such a delicious and easy meal!
MMG
These were a complete failure! I followed the recipe exactly & the meat was tough, chewy & had to be cut off the bone. Thank goodness I wasn’t preparing this for guests as they would have gone home hungry. Won’t try this one again
Donald Layne
Other comments don’t have the same issue. I don’t know for sure where the meat was bought, but I find a huge difference between grocery store meat and meat bought from the butcher up the street. Could that have been the issue? I’m going to give this a try tonight.
Rob
Same results! Tough and chewy but very tasty. I had pretty thick ribs from Albertsons. Might try again but will cook for much longer 45 – 60 minutes
Lee Lee
They we’re a total failure for me as well. I cook a lot. I’ve been using the Instant Pot for a while, so it wasn’t user error (sorry to say).
The picture before adding the sauce (in this blog’s photo) should have alerted me that these would not be “fall off the bone”; that picture is instead of “shrunk and withered away” from the bone. Which is exactly how ours looked after the pressure cooking and natural ten minute release. And how my short ribs have never, ever looked any of the many times I have cooked them with other methods and other recipes.
Our meat was so tough, it was very difficult to even cut any of the chunks into bites to eat. Also, the sauce was incredibly salty, due to the high level of soy sauce,and then cooking it down for those few minutes. At the three minute mark, the sauce turned very gelatinous due to the cornstarch. It tasted really gross.
We continued onward, though, and brushed the salty, gelatinous saucy onto the shriveled meat, and then broiled it. When we tried to eat it, no one could. It was one of the worst cooking fails I’ve ever experienced.
All that pricey, lovely, formerly meaty short ribs had to be dumped in the trash can.
So for dinner, I ended up scrambling two eggs and having that over rice with some sausage pulled off of a leftover pizza from the fridge. Everyone else went out for burgers.
And yes, I did allow pressure to naturally release for ten minutes as per the recipe. I set a separate timer to make sure I did this correctly. That was not the issue.
Shawn
Hi Lee Lee, I’m really sorry you didn’t get the same results as everyone else. I’ve made these ribs plenty of times and they were super tender and the sauce wasn’t too salty for us. Maybe try using the lower sodium soy sauce instead of regular?
Carly
Omg followed the directions word for word and same!!! They at least look great in photos. Very salty and very chewy!! Luckily I cooked little potatoes and rainbow carrots.
Shawn
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. If you found them too salty, I would suggest using low sodium soy sauce.
Kate
I agree with this review. I cook A LOT, and have never, ever taken the time to review an online recipe, but I think that this sauce was WAY too salty and the sauce was WAY too thick (and I’m a lover of seasoning and detest an under salted dish). Also, the instant pot is not the same as slow cooking short ribs as they result in a chewy meat. I won’t make this again. Not good at all.
Shawn
I’m sorry you found the sauce too salty. I would make sure you use low sodium soy sauce to avoid that. Also, if your ribs are chewy, it’s most likely that they didn’t get cooked long enough. If your ribs were larger they will need to cook a little longer in order to be tender and fall apart.
CLaudia
These were a hit with my family. Thank you for the great recipe!
Deborah Schadek
hi when you are making the asian beef ribs on the rack in your pot can you double the recipe and have 2 layers of beef ribs?? I cooking time the same?
Clayton
Just tried this recipe, ribs came out amazing! Followed the instructions almost exactly, couldn’t find normal garlic chili sauce at my grocery store so I used some garlic chili gochujang and a little extra garlic for the sauce.
Heather
I had some beef short ribs in the freezer so I tried this recipe and it was delicious! I really liked the sauce that went on them.