Today I’d like to share my mom’s secrete recipe for Korean style braised beef short ribs, a.k.a Galbi Jjim. She got this recipe from my grandmother and always make this for the entire family on 2 biggest Korean holidays; New Year and Autumn Moon Festival. Since today is Lunar New Year and I miss my mom’s cook, I will try her recipe of Galbi Jjim for the first time! I have to warn you that this is one of the most time consuming recipes that I’ve ever done. You need 3 days to make this! But trust me. At the end, it is so worth it!
DAY 1
Soak short ribs in cold water in a large bowl for 1 ~ 3 hours. Replace it with clean cold water a couple of times and drain water completely
Place short ribs in a large pot with water up to where all ribs are merely submerged. Boil for 7-10 minutes
Take out just ribs and rinse in a cold water thoroughly
Drain water and cut excessive fat parts of the meats by knife
Let the beef stock sit for 3- 4 hours until all the residues of the beef sink to the bottom. Pour only the top 2/3 of the beef stocks in a large bowl and save for making the marinating sauce. Throw out 1/3 of the bottom part that is left
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. *TIPS* The ratio of beef stock and the rest of the sauce ingredients should be 2:1
Marinate the trimmed short ribs very gently (be careful not to separate bones and meats apart). Keep the rest of the beef stock in the fridge for later use (either making Galbi Jjim or making another delicious Korean soup!)
DAY 2
Day 2, boil the marinated beef for 30 minutes again. Wait until completely cool down and separate short ribs and sauce in two different bowls. Place meats in the fridge and the sauce in the freezer. Wait for a day
DAY 3
Get rid of all fatty fats from the sauce and meats (after a day, it should have created a thick layer of a fatty white layer)
Boil for another 20- 30 minutes until the meats are tender. If necessary, pour more beef stocks to boil. Repeat what you’ve done on day 2 (separating meats and sauce and place in the refrigerator). *TIPS* When boiling, use a spatula to mix the short ribs carefully so as to all the parts can be marinated
DAY 4
Finally! It is all done. Take out sauce from the freezer and get rid of the white fat layer (you will be surprised to see that layer again!). Boil for a few minutes to make sure that all meats are warm. Do not stir too much otherwise all the bones will fall out
So tender and juicy! I told you that it is all worth it, right?
the meats are so tender that the bones just literally fall off! With a bowl of rice, this is perfect!
As I have warned you earlier, this recipe requires patience and time. I was just amazed how much fats these ribs can make! Earlier this year, I went to In Situ, a new unique restaurant by Chef Corey Lee at SFMOMA. In Situ is like a food museum where you can try many different signature dishes of the Michelin starred restaurants all around the world. You can read more about my experience at In situ, here. Anyway, one of the menu at In Situ is Galbi Jjim by Roy Cho, the chef of Son Restaurant, LA. One old lady was eating Galbi Jjim with a bowl of rice right next to me and I’ve been craving my mom’s Galbi Jjim so badly since!
You can add carrots and potato when braising the short ribs for more colors and flavors. I love vegetables but with Galbi Jjim, I like my mom’s recipe with only meats better.
Wish everyone happy Lunar New Year!
새해 복 많이 받으세요~
新年快乐
- Serving 6-8 people
- *Ingredients*
- 6.5 lbs (about 3kg) Beef short ribs
- *Sauce*
- 5C beef stocks (from braising short ribs)
- 1C Low sodium soy sauce
- ½ Asian Pear grated
- 1T minced garlic
- 1C chopped scallion
- 1T brown sugar
- Pinch of black pepper
- Day 1, Soak short ribs in cold water in a large bowl for 1 ~ 3 hours. Replace it with clean cold water a couple of times and drain water completely
- Place short ribs in a large pot with water up to where all ribs are merely submerged
- Boil for 7-10 minutes
- Take out just ribs and rinse in a cold water thoroughly
- Drain water and cut excessive fat parts of the meats by knife
- Let the beef stock sit for 3- 4 hours until all the residues of the beef sink to the bottom
- Pour only the top ⅔ of the beef stocks in a large bowl and save for making the marinating sauce. Throw out ⅓ of the bottom part that is left
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and marinate the trimmed short ribs very gently (be careful not to separate bones and meats apart)
- Keep the marinated beef in the fridge overnight
- Day 2, boil the marinated beef for 30 minutes again
- Wait until completely cool down and separate short ribs and sauce in two different bowls
- Place meats in the fridge and the sauce in the freezer. Wait for a day
- Day 3, Get rid of all fatty fats from the sauce and meats (after a day, it should have created a thick layer of a fatty white layer)
- Boil for another 20- 30 minutes until the meats are tender. If necessary, pour more beef stocks to boil.
- Repeat what you’ve done on day 2 (separating meats and sauce and place in the refrigerator)
- Day 4, Finally! It is all done. Take out sauce from the freezer and get rid of the white fat layer (you will be surprised to see that layer again!). Boil for a few minutes to make sure that all meats are warm. Do not stir too much otherwise all the bones will fall out
2. For making sauce, you can refer to my recipe on bulgogi (grating an Asian pear and etc)
3. On 3rd day, when you boil the short ribs, time varies depending on the conditions of your meats. Check out the meats if they are well marinated and tender. If you think they are still too tough, boil longer. Add more beef stocks if necessary. I would be careful putting more sauce since beef ribs can be too salty