Korean short ribs with spicy kimchi cucumbers

For the ribs, ensure you buy the best short ribs with the least fat and gristle. (I stand at the butcher counter and pick and choose, pick and choose…) Bring a big pot of water to a boil and cook the ribs, 10 minutes. Drain the ribs and repeat the process.

In a food processor, pulse together the onions, garlic and ginger until they are finely chopped, but not paste-like. In a large, heavy-base pot, heat the olive oil and add the onion mixture. Stir-fry over medium heat until softened but not brown, 10 minutes. Add the drained ribs and continue to fry, stirring often, 10 minutes. Add the soya sauce, sesame oil, chilli, sugar and water and cook away with the lid on, 1 hour.

While this is cooking, prepare the kimchi. Cut the ends off the cucumbers and chop into 8cm pieces. Stand each piece on its end and cut through the middle, but not all the way through. Now, turn the cucumbers 180 degrees and slice down through the middle again, but not all the way through. Are you keeping up?

Now, sprinkle the salt all over the cucumbers and set aside in a colander to drain, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients. Rub away all of the salt and water that has oozed from the cucumbers with a tea towel. Open up the slits in the cucumbers and stuff the spicy filling as far up the cuts as you can get it, until you have used up all the mixture. Set aside, at least 30 minutes. (You can leave this overnight too.)

Back to the short ribs! Add the carrots and shiitake mushrooms and their soaking water to the pot and boil away for a further 30 minutes with the lid off. Just before serving, add the shimeji and place the lid back on. The shimeji wilt fast, so watch carefully. Serve with the kimchi cucumbers.