Hong shao, or red braising, is one of the great techniques of eastern Chinese cooking, and Shanghai cooks are famous for doing it sweetly and glossily. Sugar is caramelized in the pot, the meat is turned in it, and then dark soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and a few whole spices go in for a long, quiet simmer. The red of the name is really a deep mahogany, and the sauce at the end clings to the meat like lacquer. The most famous version is Shanghai's braised pork belly; we have applied the same method to beef short ribs, which reward slow cooking just as generously.

This is a dish for a Shanghai race weekend because it does all its work while you watch something else. Three hours on a low flame, a final ten minutes of reduction, a bowl of rice and some bright green bok choy, and the table looks as if you have been at it all day. Strictly speaking, you have, but only in the sense that the pot has.

The ribs

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) bone in beef short ribs
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup (50 g) rock sugar
• 6 thin slices fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 scallions
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dark soy sauce
• 3 cups (720 ml) hot water

Method

1. Put the ribs in the second pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain in the colander and rinse each rib under warm running water to wash off the gray foam. Pat dry with paper towels.
2. Put the oil and the rock sugar in the heavy pot over medium low heat. Stir gently with the wooden spoon as the sugar melts, which takes 3 to 5 minutes.
3. At once, add the ribs with tongs (careful, it will spit) and turn the heat to medium. Turn them in the caramel for about 3 minutes so every side is glazed.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, scallion whites, star anise and cinnamon and stir for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and let it bubble for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot with the spoon. Add the light and dark soy sauces and the hot water. The liquid should come about three quarters of the way up the ribs; add a little more water if needed.
6. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover and simmer very gently for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Every 30 minutes, turn the ribs over with tongs and check the liquid: if it has dropped below halfway up the ribs, add 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water.
7. Lift out the ribs onto a plate. Fish out the ginger, scallion pieces, star anise and cinnamon with a slotted spoon, or pour the liquid through the sieve and return it to the pot. Spoon off as much clear fat from the surface as you can. Boil the sauce over medium high heat, uncovered, for 8 to 12 minutes, stirring often. Return the ribs and turn them in the sauce for 2 minutes.

Steamed jasmine rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) jasmine rice
• 2 cups (480 ml) cold water

Method

1. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl with your hand and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat three or four times, draining well the last time.
2. Put the rice and the 2 cups water in the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover tightly, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
3. Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Blanched bok choy

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) baby bok choy
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil

Method

1. Bring the second pot, now washed, two thirds full of water to a boil with the salt and oil. Add the bok choy and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then drain well.

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