Korean Marinated Short Ribs (LA Galbi)

These Korean short ribs come out delicious every time! The ribs are so juicy and tender, and when grilled they develop a wonderful char from the grill due to the sugar content in the marinade. They’re absolutely incredible!

I love cooking these ribs on the grill, but you can also broil them in the oven, or cook them up on the pan or cast iron at home!

Ingredients for Korean Marinated Short Ribs

You only need a few ingredients to make these delicious short ribs. Here is what you’ll need to make them!

• 3 lb Beef Short Ribs (cut flanken style, which is lengthwise across the bone – they will usually come thinner and include 3 pieces of bone with each rib)
• 1 Korean Pear – Ideally you will need a Korean or Asian pear for this recipe to tenderize the meat. The fruit will contain an enzyme called Calpain which helps with the tenderization process. Alternatively, you can use apple or kiwi if you have trouble finding this specific ingredient
• 1 onion white or yellow
• 10 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup mirin – You can substitute mirin with equal parts sugar!
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

How To Select Your Short Ribs

Typically at the butcher or grocery store, short ribs are sold two ways:

• English Cut – the ribs are separated completely and cut along with the meat. This is a cut you’ll typically see when short ribs are braised and come with a thicker section of meat. Traditionally for Galbi, this section is butterflied into a long, thin piece of short rib and grilled.
• Flanken Cut – this is the cut we’re after for this type of Galbi, also known as LA Galbi (based on the city where this style of grilled short ribs originated). The ribs are cut into thin strips across the rib bones, and typically include 3 bones in each piece of rib. You can find this cut more commonly at your local Asian supermarket.

Cooking Korean Marinated Short Ribs: Recipe Instructions

Rinse the Short Ribs

Begin by rinsing the ribs in cold water. These short ribs are cut flanken style, which may mean they have some loose bone fragments on them and extra sediment, which you definitely don’t want to eat. Rinse the ribs, drain the water, and set them aside!

Prepare the Marinade for the Korean Marinated Short Ribs

Once the ribs are rinsed, now it’s time to make the base of the marinade. To a blender, add Korean pear, onion, garlic and ginger, then blend on high until it becomes a smooth pulp.

Strain the Pulp (optional)

This step is optional, but I like to strain the pulp from the juice after it is blended. I find that the pulp can sometimes burn easily on the ribs, and you really only need the juice to incorporate the flavor into the meat. I simply take a cheese cloth or a reusable nut milk bag to strain out the pulp and extract the juice into a large mixing bowl!

Add the seasonings to the marinade

Add the seasoning ingredients (low sodium soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and black pepper). Stir the marinade until the sugar is fully dissolved. Now you’re ready to marinate your ribs!

Marinate the ribs

Marinate the ribs make sure they are fully submerged in the marinating liquid. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and put them in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight for best results.