Grilled Kalbi (LA Style)

Recipe by Eric Shin | Photo by Jennifer Chase

Grilled Kalbi, or short ribs is an essential recipe to have down if you love BBQ and want to create an authentic Korean BBQ experience at home.

This recipe calls for the use of scissors. Scissors are one of the most common kitchen tools in Korea and often used instead of knives. At home, we cut EVERYTHING with scissors: meat, asparagus, green beans, noodles, scallions/herbs, bacon, etc. At most Korean restaurants, scissors are brought to the table to cut noodles and meats off the grill. 

Grilled Kalbi

Beef
3 to 4 pounds of short ribs cut “LA style” (cross cut—ask your butcher)

Marinade
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup mirin
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 Asian pear (can substitute with a kiwi)
4 cloves garlic, minced
½-inch knob ginger, peeled and sliced
½ medium onion, roughly chopped

Dipping paste (ssamjang)
¼ cup Korean soybean paste (doenjang)
¼ cup white miso paste
¼ cup Korean chili paste (gochujang)
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey

Combine the ingredients for the dipping paste (ssamjang) and set aside.

Fully submerge the short ribs in ice water for 1 hour (this will draw out any excess blood from the ribs).   

While the ribs are soaking, thoroughly blend the marinade ingredients in a blender. Drain the water from the ribs thoroughly and cover the meat generously with the marinade. Massage the marinade into the beef for 1–2 minutes. Marinate the beef overnight in the refrigerator; 24 hours will yield the best results. 

To prepare, remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let sit for 30 minutes. 

Grill each side until it is lightly caramelized, 3–4 minutes. Cut up with kitchen shears* and enjoy with some hot rice, lettuce wraps (ssam) and ssamjang.