Dwaeji-galbi-jjim (Braised Pork Ribs)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large bowl for soaking ribs
• •Wide heavy pot or Dutch oven, 5 to 6 quart
• •Small knife for rounding vegetables
• •Fine-mesh skimmer or large spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the ribs

   Put the pork ribs in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 5cm. Soak 30 minutes, changing the water once. This pulls out blood and bone dust, which keeps the braise from tasting heavy. Drain well.

   If the ribs are very fresh and clean, 20 minutes is enough. If the water turns dark quickly, give them the full 30 minutes and change the water twice.
2. 2

   Blanch and rinse

   Bring 8 cups water to a hard boil with the ginger slices, rice wine, and halved onion. Add the ribs and boil 6 minutes, turning once. Drain, discard the blanching liquid, and rinse each rib under warm running water, rubbing away foam and bone grit. Trim off loose flaps of fat, but leave some marbling. Pork without any fat dries out before it becomes tender.

3. 3

   Mix the sauce

   In a bowl, stir together the grated pear, grated onion, soy sauce, soup soy sauce, rice syrup, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, minced ginger, gochugaru, optional gochujang, and black pepper. Taste it now. It should be salty, lightly sweet, and sharp from the raw aromatics, because the pork and vegetables will soften it as they cook.

   Use the gochujang as a background note, not the main seasoning. One teaspoon deepens the color; more than that starts to bury the pork.
4. 4

   Start the braise

   Put the cleaned ribs in a wide heavy pot. Add the sauce and 2 cups anchovy-kelp broth or water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower to a steady simmer. Cover and cook 45 minutes, turning the ribs every 15 minutes so the bones and meat season evenly.

5. 5

   Shape the vegetables

   While the ribs cook, round the sharp edges of the radish and carrot chunks with a small knife if you have the patience. This is not decoration only. Rounded edges keep the vegetables from breaking apart during the long braise, so the sauce stays clean instead of cloudy.

6. 6

   Add the vegetables

   After the ribs have cooked 45 minutes, add the radish, carrots, soaked shiitake, chestnuts, and jujubes. Press them down into the sauce. Cover again and simmer 30 to 35 minutes, until the radish is translucent at the edges and a chopstick slides into the thickest rib with only a little resistance.

7. 7

   Reduce the sauce

   Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, spooning the sauce over the ribs often, until the liquid reduces to about 1 cup and turns glossy enough to coat the meat. This is where the dish becomes jjim, not soup. Watch the bottom of the pot in the last 5 minutes, because the fruit sugars can catch.

8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Add the scallion lengths for the final 2 minutes, just until they bend. Turn off the heat and let the ribs rest 10 minutes in the pot so the sauce settles back into the meat. Scatter with sesame seeds and the sliced chilies if using. Serve with rice, kimchi, and something green and clean, because a rich braise needs a clear neighbor.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for pork ribs cut into short pieces across the bone, about 5 to 6cm. Long Western racks can be used, but they are harder to turn and season evenly in a home pot.
• •Pear and onion are doing real work here. They sweeten, soften, and keep the sauce from tasting flat. If Korean pear is not in season, use Asian pear or a firm sweet apple. Do not replace all the fruit with sugar.
• •For a clearly spicy version, increase the gochugaru to 3 tablespoons and the gochujang to 1 tablespoon, then reduce the soy sauce by 1 tablespoon. The heat should sit inside the braise, not turn it into a paste.
• •A pressure cooker is a safe schedule change: after blanching, cook the ribs with the sauce and broth under high pressure for 22 minutes, natural release 10 minutes, then add the vegetables and simmer uncovered until tender and glossy. Do not pressure-cook the carrots and radish from the start unless you want them broken.
• •This is richer the next day. Chill it overnight, lift off the hardened fat, and reheat gently with 2 to 3 tablespoons water if the sauce has tightened too much.

Advance Preparation

• •The ribs can be soaked, blanched, rinsed, and trimmed up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate them covered, then continue with the sauce and braise the next day.
• •The sauce can be mixed 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Stir it well before using, because the grated pear and onion settle.
• •The finished braise keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat covered over low heat, adding a splash of water if needed, then uncover briefly to bring the glaze back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)