Rib

Mom's LA Galbi

by:
July 16, 2018
4.4
5 Ratings
Mom's LA Galbi
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 12 hours
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • Serves 2 to 4
Author Notes

Want to hear more about Korean-American food? On our new podcast Counterjam—a show that explores culture through food and music—host Peter J. Kim talks instant ramyeun hacks, kimchi-jjigae, cheonggukjang, and more with chef Roy Choi and comedian Margaret Cho—check out the episode here. —Irene Yoo

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: My Mother's Korean BBQ Was the One Dish That Made Me Feel American. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds cross-cut, LA-style short ribs
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 small onion
  • 1/2 small Asian pear
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons rice wine, for tang (optional)
Directions
  1. Soak short ribs in cold water for 10 minutes (this will remove some of the blood from the meat, a common Korean technique).
  2. While the short ribs are soaking, make your marinade by combining all other ingredients in food processor and pureeing until slightly chunky.
  3. Rinse the ribs, especially the cut bones to get rid of any bone shards/fragments.
  4. Massage the marinade into the ribs.
  5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours (no more than 2 days). Flip ribs once to ensure marinade permeates both sides.
  6. Grill ribs on low to medium heat, flipping often to prevent sugars from burning.
  7. Ribs are done once the meat is a dark brown and some black edges have developed from the sugars caramelizing.
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  • Irene Yoo
    Irene Yoo
  • bas26
    bas26
Irene Yoo
Irene Yoo is chef and creator of Yooeating, a Korean American food channel that explores Korean home cooking, street food, and culinary history. She has developed recipes and penned essays for Food52, Food Network, and Bon Appetit, and previously presented about Korean culinary history at The Korea Society and The Museum of Food and Drink.

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2 Reviews

bas26
bas26 August 10, 2019
This is one of my favorite dishes but I've never made it before. I finally tried this recipe and it was very good. I found that it needed more soy sauce as the flavor wasn't as intense I'm used to. I grilled it and let it char slightly. I would make this again but with a little more soy sauce (3/4 cups total)
 
Irene Y.
Irene Y. August 11, 2019
Glad you enjoyed! Great that you adjusted the soy sauce according to taste - there are so many different soy sauces of varying flavors and saltiness on the market. Kalbi forever!