Asian Braised Beef Shank

I think I've mentioned before that Chris and I love to go to Whole Foods on a Saturday, then stay in that night and cook an amazing meal. And since we love to try new recipes, we also often buy ingredients we've never used before. This past weekend, we picked up a beef shank, and even though we didn't know what we were going to do with it, we came home and found a great recipe to use as a rough guide!


Asian Braised Beef Shank
adapted from Ming Tsai's Asian Braised Short Ribs

1 beef shank
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into chunks
2 celery stalks, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced (from 1/2-inch knob)
10 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2-3 tbs soy sauce
2 whole sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup water
Sesame seeds
Pepper, to taste


Heat the oil in a pan. Sear the beef on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side, to get a brown crust on each side. Remove the beef, and add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrots, and celery. Sautee until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and water to deglaze the pan. Nestle the beef back into the center of the pot so that the liquid reaches the top of it. Bring it to a simmer, then add the mushrooms, thyme, sesame seeds, and pepper.



Turn the heat to low and put a top on. After 30 minutes or so, take off the top and ladle some of the liquid over the beef.



Cook until the meat begins to fall apart, approximately 2 hours. Serve over rice and enjoy!