Asian Braised Beef Short Ribs

This recipe probably gets the most raves from my friends every time I cook it and it couldn't be any easier to make. It scales up perfectly so it is great for a dinner for 2 or a party of 150 (I really cooked it for that many people).

INGREDIENTS
8-10 Beef Short Ribs
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar
10 cloves Garlic - peeled and smashed
10 tbsp Ginger - peeled and minced
1/2 cup Light brown sugar
1 quart Water
1/2 cup Green onion - Sliced, bottoms, white part for braising liquid
1/2 cup Green onion - Sliced, tops, green part only for topping the finished dish
1/4 cup Fresh orange juice
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce

INSTRUCTIONS
1 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2 - In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. If you don't have a pot with a lid you can use aluminum foil but make sure it is sealed up tight. Make the short ribs are submerged in the liquid and ad more water if needed to cover them.
3 - Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
4 - Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice.
5 - If you are serving immediately then return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot, coating the short ribs well with the sauce and cook for 10 minutes until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve over green onion mashed potatoes or in bibb lettece cups. Season each portion with the a small amount of orange zest and garnish with the green onions.

If serving at a later time then keep the short ribs and braising liquid separate until before you want to serve them and then follow the steps above to heat and combine. This prevents the meats from soaking up the soy sauce and becoming too salty.