Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels. Season them on all sides with with the kosher salt, black pepper, and five spice.
Heat a large dutch oven or pan over medium high heat. Pour in the vegetable oil. Add in the short ribs and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and seared all over. Remove the short ribs from the pan.
In the same pan, add in the onions. Sauté until translucent then mix in the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine the beef broth, miso paste, brown sugar, dark soy sauce, and Chinese cooking wine. Mix until the miso paste has dissolved. Pour this mixture into the dutch oven. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to incorporate it into the sauce. Bring it to a bubble then remove the dutch oven from heat.
Add the short ribs into the slow cooker along with the rosemary and bay leaf. Pour all the contents in the dutch oven into the slow cooker over the short ribs. Arrange the onions so they're evenly distributed. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
30 minutes before the short ribs finish cooking, mix the cornstarch and water together in a bowl until the cornstarch has dissolved. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker and mix until combined throughout. Cover and cook for the remaining 30 minutes, the sauce should thicken. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Discard the rosemary sprig and bay leaf. Enjoy!