Chinese slow cooked short ribs

This is my second post this week for 52 weeks of cooking. I made fried rice earlier in the week, but I really wanted to try to make something that had a bit more of an authentic Chinese flavor profile to it as well. I've also never made short ribs, so I figured I'd give them a shot. I know this isn't a true Chinese recipe, but I looked at a bunch of recipes on line and took elements of several to come up with this, and I adapted it to cook in the crock pot.

I really need better plates :)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/8 cup light brown sugar
veg oil for frying
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
4 lbs short ribs
2/3 cup of plum wine
2/3 rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
3 cups of beef broth
1 bunch of scallions

The first thing I did was slice the onions and put them in the crock pot.

Next I added the minced garlic, Chinese five spice, soy sauce and brown sugar.

 Now it's time to get to work on the ribs. Slice them into single ribs.

Put the flour onto a large plate, then coat the ribs all over with flour.

Put about 1/2 to 3/8 of an inch of vegetable oil into a frying pan. When it's hot, start adding the ribs. Turn them often, and just cook them long enough to brown on all sides.

As they brown add them to the crock.

Now add the plum wine, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and beef broth.

 Cook this on low for 8-10 hours. When I got home from work I added some scallions and let them cook with it while I made some steamed broccoli and white rice.

And here is the finished product with some additional scallions for garnish. This was so tender and flavorful!

*Chicken Fried Rice

Week 2 of the challenge is Chinese. I want to do two different dishes this week. This will be my "American" Chinese food, and my next offering will be more of an authentic Chinese dish.

Here is my chicken fried rice...

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
a handful of carrots, diced
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
1 can stir fry corn (baby corn)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen edamame
4 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups cooked brown rice, cook this the day before, or at least about an hour before and stick it in the fridge asap. That's what I did.
sesame oil
soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep all the components before you start to cook so that they are all ready and waiting to be used.

Get the wok hot and add about 2 tbsp sesame oil. When the wok is hot, add the chicken. Cook until starting to brown and no longer pink, throughout.

Remove the chicken and set aside.

Add another tbsp sesame oil, then add the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook until onions are translucent.

Add the carrots, peas, edamame, corn and half of the scallions.

Add about 1/3 cup of soy sauce. Cook until the veggies are hot and tender.

Add the chicken back in with the veggies, then add the rice.

Stir the mixture every few minutes as it cooks. When it starts to brown, make a whole in the center of it all and add the eggs.

As the egg starts to set mix it in with the rest of the stuff, and cook until done.

Add the remaining scallions and serve. I also made some fried dumplings (store bought) and pan fried tofu to go with my fried rice.

*This can be done as a vegetarian dish if you just eliminate the chicken. You could also add cubed tofu for extra protein or just add more eggs.