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Galbi – Korean Short Ribs

galbi
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This Galbi recipe reflects the traditional or classic style commonly seen at specialized Korean BBQ restaurants in Korea.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb Beef Short Ribs
  • 1/2 Korean Pear (optional – see notes below)
  • 1 tbs Cheongju, Korean Rice Wine
  • 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (regular)
  • 3 tbs Sugar
  • 2 tbs Sesame Oil
  • 1/2 Onion (Medium)
  • 1 tbs Garlic (minced)
  • 1 Green Onion
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tbs Sesame Seeds (optional)
  • 1 oz Pine nuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. Soak ribs in cold water for 30 minutes to an hour to remove some blood (OPTIONAL). This helps reduce the gamey smell or taste.
  2. Cut ribs into thin strips (about 5 mm or a bit thinner than ¼”). Score both sides of the meat (make very shallow cuts at ½” intervals diagonally across the surface and repeat the same to create a diamond pattern. See detailed video of how to cut wang-galbi here.
  3. Wash and peel ½ asian pear. Remove the core and grind it. Peel ½ onion and grind it. Grind 10g of pine nuts in an electric grinder (or put them in a ziplock bag and wrap with a cloth, then smash with a hammer. Be careful not to damage the working surface below).
  4. Mince 3 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 green onion.
  5. Mix the ground pear and 2 tablespoons of cheongju (Korean rice wine). If you don’t have cheongju, use white wine or sake. Rub the mix on both sides of the meat and leave them for 15-30 min in the fridge.
  6. Make a marinade by mixing 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, the ground onion, chopped green onions, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of ground sesame seeds and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.
  7. Rub the marinade on both sides of the meat and massage it by hand for a minute. Keep the marinated meat in the fridge for 3-4 hours (for 5 mm thickness). If your meat is thicker, marinate for a longer time (ideally overnight).
  8. Cook both sides of the meat on BBQ until the outside is nicely browned. If the heat is strong enough, it should only take 5-10 minutes altogether. You can brush the marinade remaining in the container on the meat while cooking for extra flavor and shine (especially if you didn’t have time to marinate the meat for a while). If you put too many at once, the liquid from meat may put off the charcoal fire.
  9. You can serve the meat as it is and cut with scissors at the table, or you can pre-cut with scissors or a knife before serving. Sprinkle ground pine nuts on top of the meat (OPTIONAL). You can also sprinkle sesame seeds instead.
  10. You can enjoy galbi simply with a bowl of rice and a salad of your choice. However, traditional galbi dinner includes rice, doenjang Jjigae (soy bean paste stew), kimchi and a few side dishes.

Notes

  • Optional Ingredients and Substitutions
  • Beef Short Rib – Wang-galbi cut: 800g of wang-galbi (4 pieces of wang-galbi) in the ingredients list includes the bone weight. The meat is about 600g. You can use LA galbi cut or other tender steak meat if you cannot find the wang-galbi cut. See detailed video of how to cut wang-galbi here.
  • Korean Pear: Korean pear is the best option but it can be pricy and difficult to find. You can use bosc pear instead if Korean pear is not available.
  • You can get away without using a pear but it adds a really nice flavor to the marinade. So, try not to omit it.
  • Cheongju (Korean rice wine): Try using Japanese cold sake or white wine.
  • Pine nut: You can omit it. You can also use sesame seeds as a garnish instead.
  • Sesame seeds: Very nice to have but you can omit it.
  • Sugar: If you are avoiding white sugar, you can use brown sugar, honey or pineapple juice instead. But, note that your marinade then will have the flavor of the substituted ingredient.

Find it online: https://goingmywayz.com/galbi-korean-shortribs/