Galbi Marinade (Short Rib Marinade)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Box grater or blender
• •Large nonreactive mixing bowl
• •Glass or stainless marinating dish, or a food-safe resealable bag
• •Tongs for turning ribs

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the fruit

   Grate the pear and onion into a bowl and keep every drop of juice. Do not drain it. That juice carries the sweetness and helps tenderize the ribs more evenly than chopped fruit sitting in patches on the meat.

   A blender is fine if you are feeding many people, but make the puree smooth. Pieces of pear or onion burn quickly on the grill before the meat has browned.
2. 2

   Mix the base

   Stir the soy sauce, brown sugar or maesil-cheong, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, scallions, sesame seeds, and black pepper into the grated pear and onion. Taste it before the meat goes in. It should be salty-sweet and garlicky, but not syrupy. The beef still needs room to speak.

3. 3

   Adjust with care

   If your soy sauce is very salty, add 2 tablespoons water. If your pear is bland, add 1 more teaspoon sugar, not a handful. This is where 손맛, hand-taste, is real, and I still measure it so it can be handed on.

4. 4

   Marinate the ribs

   Pat the short ribs dry and coat them thoroughly with the marinade, rubbing it between cuts and around the bones. For thin LA galbi, marinate 4 to 8 hours in the refrigerator. For thicker Korean-cut butterflied ribs, marinate 6 to 12 hours. Turn the meat once if it is in a shallow dish, because even seasoning is the point of the bowl.

   Do not marinate overnight by habit. Pear and onion tenderize gently, but left too long they can make the surface soft and the soy can push the meat past seasoned into salty.
5. 5

   Ready for grilling

   Lift the ribs from the marinade and let the excess drip off before grilling. Wipe away thick clumps of garlic or onion so they do not scorch. Grill over medium-high heat until the edges caramelize and the meat is just cooked through, then rest briefly before serving with rice, lettuce, ssamjang, and banchan.

Chef Tips

• •Korean pear is best here because it is crisp, juicy, and mild. If you cannot find it, use Asian pear first, then a firm sweet apple as the next choice. Kiwi tenderizes too aggressively for long marinating, so use only 1 teaspoon grated kiwi for 1.5 kilograms meat, and cut the marinating time in half.
• •For LA galbi, rinse bone dust from the cut ribs under cold water, then pat very dry before marinating. That small washing is not for flavor; it keeps gritty bone fragments off the table.
• •This marinade is for beef short ribs. For bulgogi, use less fruit and a shorter marinating time because the beef is sliced paper-thin. For pork, add ginger and reduce the sesame oil slightly so the finish does not feel heavy.
• •Safe corner to cut: use a blender for the pear and onion. Corner not to cut: measuring the soy sauce. Too much soy makes the ribs salty before they ever touch the grill.

Advance Preparation

• •The marinade can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in a covered jar. Stir before using, because the grated pear and onion settle.
• •Ribs can be marinated the morning of the meal. Thin LA galbi needs 4 to 8 hours; thicker butterflied ribs need 6 to 12 hours.
• •Do not reuse marinade that touched raw beef unless you boil it hard for at least 1 full minute. For a table sauce, reserve a clean portion before adding the meat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)