Korean grilled beef short ribs (galbi gui)
For Koreans, galbi is the ultimate grilled beef dish. Serve it with salad leaves, rice, kimchi and pickled onions, using the leaves to make small parcels containing a little of everything.
In Korea, two different cuts of short ribs are used for this dish, but the easiest cut to find outside Korea is the LA galbi cut, where a rack is cut in very thin slices across the bone. You can buy it ready-cut in the freezer section of Korean stores.
Ingredients
- 800g/1lb 12oz beef short ribs, LA or flanken cut, rinsed
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp roasted sesame oil
- 3 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp mirin
- ½ Asian or 1 regular pear, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
- ½ onion, roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4cm/1½in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put the ribs in a deep baking tray. Fill with enough water to submerge them, cover, then soak for 30–45 minutes, changing the water once or twice. Drain.
Meanwhile, put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Put the soaked ribs and marinade in a baking tray or wide, flat bowl. Using your hands, massage the sauce into the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
If cooking on the hob, put a heavy griddle pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the ribs to the pan in batches and cook for 6 minutes on each side.
If barbecuing, place the grill 12–15cm/5–6in above the flame. Cook the ribs for 6 minutes on each side, turning every now and again to cook them evenly, until they are caramel-brown and slightly charred in places.
Once cooked, use a pair of scissors to cut off the strip of bones and discard, then snip the meat into bite-size pieces. Serve immediately.
