Chef notes
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of having Korean barbecue, you know that there’s not much better than galbi. Not to be confused with the city of Los Angeles, LA galbi refers to the lateral cut of short rib meat. While galbi is often a top pick in a restaurant, it’s just as easy to make at home on the grill. Smokey and succulent, this tender cut packs a ton of flavor, thanks to a simple soy marinade.
The marinade is made by mixing soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, pepper and scallions. Add the short ribs to the marinade and make sure to toss until well coated. While you can cook the galbi after two hours, it’s best to let it marinate for at least eight hours, which ensures that the short ribs will be fully infused with that great soy flavor. The sugar in the marinade also helps tenderize the short ribs — another perk of letting them marinate for a longer length of time.
Once you’re ready to cook, heat the grill to medium-high heat. Because the short ribs are so thin, they cook quickly, only taking a few minutes per side. It’s imperative not to overcook them, as you don’t want to dry out the beef. Serve the galbi with rice, kimchi and herbs.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Technique Tip: Make sure to clean off any excess cartilage pieces on the meat before cooking.
Swap Option: Though this recipe is written for my favorite cut of kalbi, the marinade can easily be used on chicken, pork, salmon or tofu and mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 whole scallions, chopped
- 4 pounds beef short ribs (laterally cut)
Preparation
1.In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the toasted sesame oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, black pepper and chopped scallions.
2.Place the short ribs into a large mixing bowl. Pour the marinade over the short ribs and, using gloved hands, coat and massage the meat well with the marinade and make sure that all the ingredients are coating every inch of the meat possible.
3.When the meat is well-coated, put all the meat into a large storage container (even adding as much of the leftover marinade as possible from the mixing bowl). Secure your container lid and let it refrigerate overnight, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
4.Heat the grill to a medium high. Grill the meat for about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
