Korean recipe

Korean grilled short ribs

Name: Korean grilled short ribs
Prep time: 6 h 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 7 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean cuisine
Ingredients: 1.2 kg flanken-cut beef short ribs, 8–10 mm thick; 180 g Asian pear, peeled and grated; 120 g yellow onion, grated; 80 ml Korean soy sauce; 35 g brown sugar; 25 ml rice wine; 20 ml toasted sesame oil; 20 g garlic, grated; 15 g scallions, finely sliced; 8 g toasted sesame seeds; 2 g black pepper; 10 ml neutral oil for the grill

Flanken-cut beef short ribs are marinated with pear, soy, garlic, and sesame, then grilled hot until caramelized and safely cooked.

South Korea

Prep: 6 hr 40 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 7 hr
Servings: 4

Caramelized Korean grilled beef short ribs cut across the bone — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by star5112Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

1.2 kg
flanken-cut beef short ribs, 8–10 mm thick
180 g
Asian pear, peeled and grated
120 g
yellow onion, grated
80 ml
Korean soy sauce
35 g
brown sugar
25 ml
rice wine
20 ml
toasted sesame oil
20 g
garlic, grated
15 g
scallions, finely sliced
8 g
toasted sesame seeds
2 g
black pepper
10 ml
neutral oil for the grill

Method

01
Rinse off bone fragments
Rinse each rib briefly under cold running water to remove sawed bone fragments, then pat completely dry. Do not soak the meat, which would dilute its flavour.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Blend the marinade
Combine pear, onion, soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, scallions, sesame seeds, and pepper. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Marinate six hours
Coat the ribs on both sides, cover, and refrigerate at 4°C or colder for 6 hours, turning once after 3 hours. Do not exceed 12 hours or the pear may soften the surface too far.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Drain before grilling
Remove the ribs from refrigeration 20 minutes before cooking. Let excess marinade drip away and scrape off thick pear pulp so it does not burn; discard every drop that touched raw beef.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Heat and oil the grill
Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over high heat for 5 minutes. Wipe the grate with 10 ml oil using folded paper held with tongs; the surface should sizzle on contact.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Grill the first sides
Lay the ribs in one layer without overlapping. Grill 2–3 minutes without moving, until browned lines form and the meat releases easily; work in two batches if needed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Turn and reach safe doneness
Turn once and grill 2–3 minutes more. Check beside, not against, the bone: the thickest meat must reach at least 71°C and no raw-looking centre should remain.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Rest, cut, and serve
Rest the ribs on a clean plate for 3 minutes, then cut between the bones into manageable pieces. Serve hot with the caramelized surfaces facing up and no uncooked marinade.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Cut pieces to an even thickness and preheat the pan before the first batch so the food browns instead of steaming.
Keep the stated doneness target beside the stove; heat strength and pan size change the clock more than the recipe does.

Common mistakes

Crowding the pan drops its temperature and leaves meat pale and watery; cook in batches when the pieces overlap.
Do not keep cooking after the listed texture or safe centre temperature is reached; carryover heat continues the cooking.

Substitutions

If flanken ribs are unavailable, use 1.2 kg boneless short-rib slices 8 mm thick and check the same 71°C centre.
Replace rice wine with 25 ml water plus 5 ml rice vinegar; the result is alcohol-free and slightly brighter.

Storage

Cool within 2 hours, refrigerate airtight for up to 3 days, and reheat only once until steaming and the centre reaches 74°C.

Cultural context

Galbi-gui is a celebratory Korean barbecue dish. Flanken-cut ribs expose several small bone sections and create broad surfaces for marinade and caramelization.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Korean.food-Galbi-01 — Photograph by star5112; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Korean recipes

Korean grilled short ribs

Ingredients

Method

Rinse off bone fragments

Blend the marinade

Marinate six hours

Drain before grilling

Heat and oil the grill

Grill the first sides

Turn and reach safe doneness

Rest, cut, and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

More Korean recipes

Vegetable bibimbap

Beef bulgogi

Grilled pork belly wraps