Korean Marinated Short Ribs (LA Galbi) (VIDEO)
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Korean Marinated Short Ribs, also known as LA Galbi, are a specific type of Galbi (Korean Short Ribs) that’s super tender, flavorful and perfect for grilling over hot coals, broiling in the oven, or searing over the cast iron skillet!
Watch the Korean Marinated Beef Short Ribs Recipe Video!
A Note from CJ
Korean Marinated Short Ribs (LA Galbi)
These Korean short ribs come out delicious every time! The ribs are juicy, tender, and develop a beautiful char due to the sugar content in the marinade. They’re absolutely incredible!
Serve Korean short ribs with your favorite Korean BBQ dishes like Beef Bulgogi and Spicy Pork Bulgogi, as well as sides (banchan) like Korean Braised Potatoes, Korean Fish Cakes, Korean Egg Roll, Korean Bean Sprout Side Dish, Korean Marinated Eggs (Mayak Eggs), Korean Cucumber Salad, Korean Bean Sprout Side Dish, Korean Spinach Salad, and Korean Spinach Side Dish!
I finally found THE recipe for Korean Short Ribs! Doubled the recipe and the platter disappeared in minutes!!!! 🤩This is going in my permanent recipe book!
Ingredient Tips
- beef short ribs – for galbi, especially LA galbi, you need to use flanken cut. The short ribs are cut into thin strips, lengthwise across the rib bones and usually include 3 bones in each rib slice. I see them commonly at Asian grocery stores, especially Korean grocery stores.
- Korean Pear – Korean/Asian Pears contain an enzyme called calpain which helps with the tenderization process. Alternatively, you can also use kiwi if you have trouble finding this specific fruit. NOTE – Kiwi is a stronger tenderizer, so I would only marinate the meat up to 12 hours.
- brown sugar – brown sugar is traditionally used for galbi marinades, as it’s deeper, more complex flavor than white sugar, but in a pinch, you can substitute with white sugar.
- mirin – if you have trouble finding mirin, you can substitute 1-1 with simple syrup with a dash of rice vinegar (for acidity).
How to Make Korean Short Ribs
Prepare the Korean short ribs and marinade – Rinse the ribs in cold water to remove any loose bone fragments and drain, then prepare the marinade by blending Korean pear, onion, garlic, ginger, and water, blending until a smooth pulp forms. Take a large bowl and use a large nut milk or spice bag to strain the pulp, leaving only the juice in the bowl. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil and black pepper, then whisk together until combined.
Marinate and grill the short ribs – Once the marinade is whisked together, add the short ribs and fully submerge them in the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or up to overnight for best results. Grill the Korean short ribs over charcoal or in a grill pan over high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until they form a nice crust on the surface of the ribs! Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with lettuce and kimchi to enjoy!
PRO TIPS
CJ’s Tips (Marinating, Storage, Reheating)
Korean Short Ribs (LA Galbi) taste best when they’ve been marinating for at least 6 hours but ideally overnight (unless you are using kiwi as a substitute for the Korean/Asian pear; in that case, I would marinate for up to 12 hours). Do not marinate for longer than 24 hours, as the short ribs will start to break down due to the calpain.
If you have any marinated short ribs that have not been cooked, you can freeze them in airtight freezer bags for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, make sure to thaw the Korean short ribs in the refrigerator before cooking.
Any cooked galbi should be store in any airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can reheat quickly in the microwave until warmed through.
If you tried this Korean Marinated Short Ribs Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Korean Marinated Short Ribs (Galbi)
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef short ribs, cut Flanken style
Marinade (enough for 3-5 lbs of ribs)
- 1 Korean Pear
- 1 onion, white or yellow
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Garnish
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Rinse the ribs in cold water to remove loose bone fragments and sediment. Drain well and set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, blend Korean pear, onion, garlic, ginger, and water until is becomes a smooth pulp and add to a large mixing bowl. Optionally, pour into a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth and drain the juice into a large mixing bowl and discard pulp.
- To the large mixing bowl, add low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, and black pepper. Mix well then add the ribs and marinate for 6 hours or overnight for best results.
- Grill, broil, or pan fry them over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Sprinkle the ribs with sesame seeds and sliced scallion and enjoy! Serve with kimchi, perilla leaf and other banchan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! This is definitely a guest favorite! Quick and a great hit!
Thanks for a super delicious recipe!! We’ve tried a few other recipes online, and this is the most flavorful one by far. We followed the recipe to the tee and marinated our galbi overnight. For the pear, onion, garlic, water mixture, we don’t have a cheesecloth so didn’t strain out the pulp. It separates as the galbi marinate anyway. We broiled each side for 4-5 minutes to get a nicer char since our current oven is weaker than others we’ve had. Will be a staple for when we want to treat ourselves!
Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious!! Love how easy it is to follow recipe
I make this recipe for kbbq at home. The pear is a bit difficult to find. If you are going to strain the marinade, you definitely need a cheese cloth. Don’t try to strain it with a regular metal strainer, you will lose a lot of juice and take forever.
This recipe made galbi so easy to make!
Savory and satisfying.
This was delicious! There were no Korean or Asian pears in my town, so I used two small kiwis.
Made them this weekend and the flavor was amazing. My husband said we don’t need to go to a restaurant for korean bbq. Love all your recipes. Will be making black pepper chicken as well this week
Grilled them this weekend and they were incredible!