Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Galbi – Korean BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs Recipe
BBQ Marinated Beef Quick Ribs (Galbi) is a standout of the world well-known Korean barbecue! Korean BBQ marinades are magical – wonderful flavour and distinctive tenderising capability which may tenderise powerful cuts like quick ribs so it’s succulent, candy, savoury and garlicky.
Korean barbecue is likely one of the first issues that come to thoughts when folks consider Korean meals. And it’s world well-known for good motive! I like that it’s as a lot of a social occasion as it’s an consuming one, loved by teams huddled round a desk embedded with a grill scorching with marinated meats, seafood and greens.
Interactive meals, I name it. And I’m 100% on board!
Of all of the marinated barbecued meats, I’m fairly positive that Korean Quick Ribs is likely one of the most well-known. Koreans prize this lower for its wealthy beefy flavour, whereas the addition of the marinade tenderises, flavours and encourages scrumptious caramelisation on the meat because it barbecues.
Korean Quick Ribs are additionally notable for the distinctive method they’re lower: The meat is “unrolled” to kind an extended, skinny flap nonetheless connected to the bone. This not solely ensures most marinade penetration but additionally that the meat cooks shortly, whereas making it simpler to eat.
Like I stated, Koreans have their barbecue sport all found out!
The DIY cooking expertise apart, one of many issues that makes Korean BBQ so nice are the Korean barbecue marinades. There’s just a few issues makes Korean barbecue marinades so distinctive:
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Distinctive tenderising impact – Korean barbecue marinades incorporate contemporary fruit corresponding to nashi pears, common pears, apples, kiwis and pineapples which have pure tenderising qualities. These fruits break down the fibres of in any other case powerful meats, such because the quick ribs we’re utilizing right this moment, to render theme exceptionally tender – even for those who occur to overcook them!
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Distinctive sweet-savoury flavour – They’ve a well-recognized but distinctive Asian flavours. They’re typically robust on garlic – a lot Korean meals is! – leaning in direction of the candy however nonetheless savoury. As a few of the sweetness comes from fruit fairly than sugar, it’s very completely different to the sugary-sweet style of some Western sauces. They’re additionally advanced, together with elements like grated onion which provides a a fantastic increase of savoury flavour and physique.
Right here’s what you want for the Korean Barbecue Marinade:
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Nashi pear or regular pear or apple – The distinctive ingredient in Korean Barbecue Marinades, nashi pear and different fruits have pure tenderising qualities that may soften the fibres of even the hardest cuts of meat. Beef quick ribs are usually slow-cooked till disintegrate tender (corresponding to on this recipe and this recipe), but right here the meat is appropriate for even barbecuing because of the marinade.
“Nashi” is the Japanese phrase for “pear”. (So actually, “nashi pear” means “pear pear”! 😂) It’s additionally identified by numerous different names together with Korean pear, Asian pear, Chinese language pear, apple pear and sand pear, to call just a few.
It’s formed like a spherical apple fairly than the distinctive pear form, however with a flesh texture and style just like a crisp pear. Besides – dare I say it – juicier and tastier than most pears!
Nashi pear is often obtainable all through autumn and winter, although typically I see them effectively into spring.
Finest substitutes: Regular pears or pink apples. They’ve a really related flavour and tenderising impact in finish end result;
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Garlic – Korean meals is thought for being liberal with the garlic, and Korean marinades are not any exception!
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Ginger – The garlic performs a dominant position right here, however ginger provides a stunning aromatic again observe. I think about ginger to be complimentary and extremely really useful however not important;
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Onion – A necessary savoury base ingredient, particularly with the distinctive method by which it’s finely grated;
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Mirin – Japanese candy cooking wine which provides depth and complexity into the marinade and, effectively, something it comes into contact with!;
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Soy sauce – For flavour and salt;
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Sesame oil – Like garlic, Koreans are very keen on sesame oil, and we don’t complain!
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Sugar – Provides extra sweetness in addition to terrific caramelisation on the meat; and
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Black pepper – For a contact of heat.
Beef ribs are a thick meaty cuts on the bone which can be usually slow-cooked as hunks in Western delicacies, to interrupt down the powerful fibres till they turn into meltingly tender, corresponding to these Beef Ribs in Pink Wine Sauce.
In distinction, for Korean BBQ, beef quick ribs are lower for cooking in numerous methods. They might be boneless, served as small, ready-to-grill, bite-sized items. In any other case they might be lower with bone nonetheless connected. This may be certainly one of two methods.
The primary is called “flanken lower” (additionally referred to as LA galbi within the USA, and asado in different elements of the world together with Australia), the place the meat slices are lower throughout the ribs so you’ve got a number of small items of rib per slice. The opposite is “English lower” ribs, the place there’s a single, longer rib bone part per slice. In Korean butchery these are lower smaller than you’ll usually discover within the retailers right here in Australia. Additionally, and most characteristically, the meat is butterflied out into one lengthy, skinny piece of beef that unrolls, nonetheless connected to the bone.
The latter, butterflied beef quick ribs, is what I’ve used right this moment. This and the boneless cuts are not often discovered at Western butchers, you should get them from Korean or Asian butchers. However don’t fear, see under for an simply accessible substitution!!
The photographs under present what butterflied beef quick ribs appears like. The highest photograph is how it’s bought on the Korean butchers, with the meat rolled up on the bone. The second photograph exhibits what it appears like unrolled.
The perfect choices and substitutions for Korean lower beef quick ribs are:
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LA galbi / asado slices – As talked about, these are additionally frequent in Korean BBQ, particularly within the US. These are beef ribs, merely lower a unique method (throughout the bone). Ensure that the LA galbi / asado slices you purchase are moderately skinny (not more than 1cm / 0.5″).
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Boneless beef ribs, sliced – That is merely quick ribs with out the bone; or
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Beef oyster blade which is basically flatiron steak within the US. It has related cooking and flavour traits to beef quick ribs in that:
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It may be gradual or quick cooked;
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It has an identical beefy flavour; and
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When sliced thinly and marinated in a Korean BBQ marinade, it stays good and juicy even when grilled lengthy sufficient to caramelise (which essentially pushes the thinly sliced beef far into well-done territory).
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Whereas oyster blade may not be a well known lower of beef right here in Australia, it’s in reality even bought at massive supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths, Harris Farms) and is likely one of the higher worth cuts of beef.
To make use of oyster blade, merely finely slice it and use per the recipe rather than the meat quick ribs. When you get the oyster blade in steak kind (which is the way it’s usually bought at supermarkets), then slice it thinly on an angle to get items with a bigger floor space (partially freezing it helps).
The final possibility (skilled degree!) is: butterfly your personal Korean beef ribs! Generally yow will discover appropriate sized quick ribs on the bone, however not butterflied. If you’re assured, you possibly can butterfly your personal. It isn’t tough if you’re competent with a knife and take your time. You want items with ribs concerning the dimension you see in my photographs, ie. ~8cm / 3″ lengthy. The reducing half nevertheless is out of scope of this publish, so comply with this helpful tutorial from Trendy Pepper (a Korean cooking web site) to see learn how to do it.
One of many distinguishing methods utilized in Korean marinades is that onion and fruit (nashi pear, on this case) are finely grated for max impact and flavour within the marinade.
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Finely grate onion, nashi pear, ginger and garlic, then mix with remaining marinade elements;
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Unroll the Korean lower butterflied beef quick ribs;
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Place beef in a ziplock bag or container then add the marinade;
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Marinate beef for twenty-four hours. Don’t shortcut this – beef quick ribs are a troublesome lower of beef so it wants the total marinating time to make sure it’s correctly tenderised;
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Prepare dinner beef ideally on a BBQ however even a range is okay. I like to make use of my BBQ so I can cook dinner the meat strips entire – as a result of it appears so good! However practicality guidelines when indoors, so simply lower them up into items that can slot in your skillet or pan.
It takes round 2 – 3 minutes on a scorching BBQ to caramelise either side, by which era the within of the skinny slices of beef are very, very effectively achieved – in reality, technically overcooked for meat this skinny. However don’t worry, that is intentional! Why? As a result of the marinade retains it tender. The truth is, I’ve cooked it for effectively over 10 minutes and it was nonetheless unbelievably tender.
Severely. This Korean marinade is foolproof magic!
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Remove from the BBQ or range, then serve! Not like different sorts of un-marinated Korean barbecue meats which have a dipping sauce, this beef is infused with and dripping with flavour so that you completely won’t want a sauce!
Korean meals is equally well-known for the number of scrumptious, easy, and principally vegetable facet dishes often called banchan which can be provided up alongside the principle meal. The rely can run from only a modest couple within the dwelling to as much as a dozen in some eating places, the place each obtainable floor on the desk is filled with a dizzying array of sides served in particular person dishes (spare a thought for the poor soul on dish washing responsibility!)
Kimchi (both store-bought or home-made) is a should, and potato salad practically at all times makes an look. Some sort of easy lettuce salad – say, lettuce, some canned corn kernels, thinly sliced onion – can be typical (my Asian sesame dressing could be excellent right here!) Plainly stir-fried greens additionally make nice accompaniments to richly flavoured Korean mains. So any of the person vegetable preparations in my bibimbap are additionally primarily mini-banchan recipes!
In the meantime I can even provide up another very typical Korean banchan recipes I’ve used from different web sites:
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Bean sprout or soybean sprout salad – from the loveable Maangchi!
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Pickled radishes (straightforward) – from My Korean Kitchen (certainly one of my go-to sources of genuine Korean recipes); and
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Korean Sesame Spinach Salad (straightforward) – additionally from My Korean Kitchen
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Candy Soy Potatoes – from DriveMeHungry
Pictured in publish are Kimchi Fried Rice and Ginger Smashed Cucumbers (each my recipes) that are a sensational pairing with this juicy Korean beef. I like the fiery pink color of the fried rice, which appears rather more fierce than it truly is in style!
And listed here are just a few extra choices for you:
Blissful Korean cooking! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 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
- 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
- Green onion, sesame seeds, coriander/cilantro leaves , for garnish
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Smashed Cucumbers
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.
- 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.
- 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
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!
6. 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!
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