Galbi - Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs

Name: Galbi - Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients: 1 kg/ 2lb beef short ribs, butterflied Korean style (pictured); 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1/3 cup soy sauce; 1/4 cup brown sugar; 2 tbsp mirin; 1/4 cup onion; 1/4 cup nashi pear; 2 tsp garlic; 2 tsp ginger; 2 tbsp water; 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 tsp black pepper; Green onion, sesame seeds, coriander/cilantro leaves; Kimchi Fried Rice; Smashed Cucumbers

User Reviews

5.0

57 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Additional Time
1 d
Servings
4 people
Calories
431 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Asian, Korean, International

Galbi - Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs

Kai Walton

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Recipe video above. This is an excellent Korean barbecue marinade that will work with pork, chicken or even lamb. And while it's delicious cooked on the stove, a BBQ will better replicate the true Korean barbecue experience!Do not worry about overcooking the thin slices of beef. The marinade is magical, it keeps the thin slices of beef incredibly tender even if you cook it for over 10 minutes which would ordinarily turn the beef into inedible dry cardboard!

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Ingredients

Servings

1 kg/ 2lb beef short ribs, butterflied Korean style (pictured) or thinly sliced through the bone (Note 1 for subs)
1 tbsp vegetable oil , for cooking

Korean Barbecue Marinade:

1/3 cup soy sauce (all purpose or light soy, not dark or sweet)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp mirin (Note 2)
1/4 cup onion , finely grated (including juice)
1/4 cup nashi pear , finely grated including juice (sub normal pear or any red apple, Note 3)
2 tsp garlic , finely grated
2 tsp ginger , finely grated
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (Note 4)
1 tsp black pepper

Serving (optional):

Green onion, sesame seeds, coriander/cilantro leaves , for garnish
Kimchi Fried Rice
Smashed Cucumbers

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Instructions

Make Marinade: Whisk Marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Marinade 24 hours: Place beef in a ziplock bag, glass or ceramic container. Pour over Marinade, mix well to coat. Cover and marinade for 24 hours.

Cooking:

Remove beef from Marinade, discard Marinade.
BBQ - Heat on high until smoking hot, then brush grills with vegetable oil. Lay beef on BBQ and cook for 2 minutes on one side until caramelised. Turn and cook the other side until caramelised. Remove, loosely cover with foil, cook remaining beef.
Stove - Cut beef strips into pieces that will fit your skillet. Heat skillet with oil over high heat. Add beef and cook for 2 minutes until caramelised, then turn and cook the other side for 2 minutes.

Serving:

Garnish beef with sesame seeds and green onions if desired. You don't need a sauce for this one - it is literally dripping with flavour! Pictured in post with Kimchi Fried Rice and Ginger Smashed Cucumbers.

Notes

Beef short ribs cut - Korean barbecue calls for a specific way of cutting beef short ribs so they are thin and cook quickly on the grill. They are either sliced through the bone into approx 0.7cm / 1/4" slices (called LA galbi in the US, or asado elsewhere), or "butterflied" (pictured in post) so the meat rolls off the bone with the bone still attached.
Slicing through the bone requires special butchery equipment, butterflying short ribs requires not only nifty knife skills but also beef ribs that are not as fatty as the usual Western ones that are intended to be slow braised until meltingly tender (such as in Red Wine Sauce or BBQ Sauce).
I opt to buy mine pre-cut from Korean butchers! I go to Hahn's Quality Korean Meats in Eastwood (Sydney) which is a Korean neighbourhood. Korean cut beef ribs can also be found at many Asian butchers.
Best substitutions:
a) Boneless short ribs, sliced; or
b) Beef oyster blade which is equivalent to flatiron steak in the US. It has similar cooking characteristics (able to be slow cooked or fast cooked) and similar texture + beefy flavour. Best to buy it in a roast form then slice 0.5cm / 0.2" thick, marinade and cook per recipe. Oyster steak is sold at large grocery stores in Australia (Woolies, Coles, Harris). For these, freeze for 1 hour (it makes it easier to slice) then slice across surface on the diagonal so you get larger surface area thin slices.
Mirin - Japanese sweet cooking sake, which adds complexity and depth of flavour to anything it comes in contact with! Best substitute: 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine), or cooking sake. Otherwise, leave it out.
Nashi Pear - Prized for the natural tenderising qualities for this tough cut of beef, and sweet flavour it brings! Substitute with normal pear or any type of red apple.
Sesame Oil - toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.
Storage - marinated beef can be put in the freezer immediately, then it will marinate as it thaws overnight in the fridge. Cooked beef will keep for 4 - 5 days, but it's truly at its best freshly cooked!
Nutrition assumes all the marinade is consumed which of course it is not. Impossible to calculate the actual calories per serving because of this, but suffice to say it is less!

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 431cal (22%) Carbohydrates 20g (7%) Protein 37g (74%) Fat 22g (34%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Cholesterol 108mg (36%) Sodium 1269mg (53%) Potassium 742mg (21%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 16g (32%) Vitamin A 3IU (0%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 37mg (4%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 431 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	431cal	22%
Carbohydrates	20g	7%
Protein	37g	74%
Fat	22g	34%
Saturated Fat	8g	40%
Cholesterol	108mg	36%
Sodium	1269mg	53%
Potassium	742mg	16%
Fiber	1g	4%
Sugar	16g	32%
Vitamin A	3IU	0%
Vitamin C	1mg	1%
Calcium	37mg	4%
Iron	5mg	28%