Braised Short Rib Stew

In the late spring of the pandemic we ordered half of a cow. It was something that we had thought of doing in the past, and never quite did. We have routinely gotten whole pigs and lambs in the past, and enjoyed all aspects of it, including getting a local animal, supporting a neighbor, and our community, so when meat got very briefly tight we made the plunge, and this is what we made with the short ribs (a NYT recipe from Roy Choi. 4 pounds bone-in short ribs 1 small bunch scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped 1 ½ cups soy sauce ¼ cup chopped fresh ginger 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped ½ cup garlic cloves, peeled (about 2 heads) ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup mirin ½ cup fresh orange juice ½ cup apple juice ½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems reserved for another use, halved or quartered if large 1 cup jarred, peeled chestnuts 1 cup taro, peeled and cut into large dice (about a 3-inch segment) 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into large dice (about 2 carrots) 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about half a squash) Put short ribs in a bowl, and cover with water. Drain, and discard water. Repeat twice. Remove short ribs from bowl, and score them diagonally across the top of the meat. Return ribs to the bowl, and rinse again. Remove, and pat dry. In a blender or food processor, combine scallions, soy sauce, ginger, onion, garlic, sugar, mirin, orange juice and apple juice, then pulse to purée. Add a little water if you need to thin out the sauce so it combines. Put puréed sauce in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid, add 3 cups water and stir to combine. Bring pot to a boil over high heat, then add the ribs to the pot and lower heat to a simmer. Cover pot. Cook ribs over low for at least 2 hours. Add vegetables, cover and simmer, 30 minutes more or so, until meat is tender and vegetables are cooked through. Serve warm.