Slow Cooker Soy Short Ribs with Sugar Snap Peas

I have loved Real Simple magazine for many years and finally subscribed after the honeymoon. I have a digital component to my subscription and love my new monthly tradition of curling up in my big white armchair, my iPad mini, and a hot cup of tea and perusing the beautiful 'pages'. I also can simply screenshot anything I want to go back to later, including recipes.

Their Soy-Braised Short Ribs caught my eye in the February 2014 issue. I love soy and beef together in any iteration. Mostly, I loved that the prep work was, essentially, "Add ingredients and mix together."

The ingredients are:

1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 pounds short ribs (preferably flanken) (I used English style)
2 cups white rice
1/2 pound snap peas, sliced

I had a spicy-averse diner to consider when I made this, so I really kept true to the flavor measurements relating to spice. I did NOT follow measurements with the fresh ginger. I love it and used the entire 2-inch knob you see below, featuring one of my favorite kitchen tricks.

That's right - use a spoon to peel garlic. The skin is very thin so you don't need anything too sharp. Plus, no slippery knife accidents (which have of course never happened to me...)

Measure out all of the ingredients and add everything except the rice and peas to the slow cooker. Toss to cover and then cook on low for 7 - 8 hours or high for 5 - 6. Serve over rice and toss with the fresh snap peas. I tossed some roasted asparagus into the mix as well.

It was delicious. In the future, I would definitely up the heat factor and squeeze lime juice over the final bowl for some freshness after the slow cooker did it's work. All in all, the meat simply fell off the bones and the sauce was excellent - sweet, salty, zingy, and rich at the same time.