Galbi Jjim Recipe
120 minBase: 2 servings
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- Bone-in beef short ribs700 g
- Korean radish or daikon150 g
- Carrot100 g
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms80 g
- Green onion30 g
Seasonings
- Onion80 g
- Asian pear80 g
- Soy sauce3 tbsp
- Sugar1 tbsp
- Cooking rice wine1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Minced ginger0.5 tsp
- Ground black pepper0.25 tsp
- Toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- Water for braising650 ml
Optional ingredients
- Toasted sesame seeds0.5 tsp
Ingredient preparation notes
- Bone-in beef short ribs
Use thick 4–5 cm braising pieces, not thin flanken-cut ribs. Fully thaw frozen ribs in the refrigerator; thawing time is additional. This method blanches without a cold-water soak.
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms
Weight after trimming tough stems.
- Onion
Finely grate or mince for the braising sauce.
- Asian pear
Peeled, cored, and grated weight.
- Cooking rice wine
Replace with 15 ml water if unavailable.
- Water for braising
Excludes the discarded blanching water. Use a heavy saucepan about 20 cm wide.
- Toasted sesame seeds
For the final garnish.
Equipment & measures
- Knife and cutting board
- Kitchen scale and measuring spoons
- Heavy saucepan and lid
- Mixing bowl
- Grater or blender
- Tongs
- Ladle and cooking spoon
- Food thermometer
1 tsp = 5ml · 1 tbsp = 15ml. Use measuring spoons.
Prep 20 min · Cook 100 min
Method
The instructions below are for 2 servings.
Prepare the ribs and vegetables
Cut radish into 3 cm chunks, carrot into 2.5 cm chunks, mushrooms into halves or quarters, and green onion into 4 cm lengths. Trim excess surface fat from the ribs and remove visible bone fragments with a paper towel. Do not rinse raw meat under running water. Keep raw-meat utensils separate from vegetable preparation.
Blanch briefly
Bring about 1.5 L of separate water to a boil. Add the ribs; once the water returns to a boil, blanch over medium heat for 8 minutes. Lift out with tongs and remove clinging foam. Discard the blanching water, wash the pan and tongs, and return the ribs to the pan.
Add the braising sauce
Mix soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, grated pear and onion, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Add to the ribs with the measured 650 ml water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, allowing about 5 minutes, and skim foam and excess fat.
Soften the meat first
Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 55 minutes. Turn the ribs about every 20 minutes. If very little liquid remains on the bottom, add hot water in 100 ml increments. If the ribs are still tough, continue in 15-minute intervals before adding the vegetables.
Cook the vegetables and check tenderness
Add radish, carrot, and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, adding green onion for the final 5 minutes. The vegetables should yield easily to a skewer and the meat should separate with a fork. Check thick meat away from the bone for at least 63°C/145°F and continue simmering for at least 3 more minutes.
Reduce to a moist glaze
Only after the meat is tender, uncover and reduce over medium heat for 5–10 minutes, spooning liquid over the ribs. Stop with about 3–4 tablespoons of moist sauce remaining. Stir in sesame oil. If the sauce becomes salty before it reaches this stage, loosen it with water in 30 ml increments.
Lift onto a serving dish
Support the tender ribs and vegetables with tongs and a spoon as you transfer them to a platter. Spoon over the remaining sauce and add the optional sesame seeds. Appearance alone cannot establish either safe cooking or tenderness in bone-in ribs.
Braise 700 g of bone-in beef short ribs with radish, carrot, and shiitake mushrooms. Check tenderness before reducing the pear and soy sauce glaze.
Thick braising ribs need time to soften before their sauce becomes concentrated. Briefly blanch them, simmer them covered, then add the vegetables later. This version uses grated Asian pear and onion in a brown soy sauce, without chili flakes.
A LITTLE KITCHEN WISDOM
Little details that help
Tenderness comes before reduction
A low liquid level does not mean the ribs are finished. If a fork still meets resistance, add water and continue cooking covered before reducing the sauce. Thick ribs may need 15–30 minutes beyond the estimated cooking time.
Protect the vegetables
Radish and carrot can collapse if they simmer as long as the ribs. Add them after the meat starts to soften. If they finish first, lift them out and return them when the sauce is ready.
Storing leftovers
Divide ribs and sauce among shallow containers and refrigerate at 4°C/40°F or below within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 32°C/90°F. Use within 3 days. Add a little water, cover, and reheat until the center of the thickest meat reaches 74°C/165°F.
Common questions
Can I use thin flanken-cut ribs?
This schedule is for thick braising ribs. Thin barbecue ribs can dry out or fall apart during the same 100-minute cooking period, so do not apply this timing unchanged.
Can I substitute dried shiitake mushrooms?
Use about 10 g dried shiitake, rehydrated separately until soft according to the package. Add that soaking time to the stated preparation time. Keep the measured 650 ml braising water; the mushroom soaking liquid is not required.
