On date night the other week, one of our go to restaurants had a new menu that included Korean BBQ Short Ribs. I’d never had Korean BBQ but it was really good. They did serve it with an aioli, which didn’t seem authentic but worked.
I did research on the recipe for the BBQ and for the most part it’s pretty consistent in terms of ingredients, though some called for vinegar instead of mirin. As mirin is easy to find, I didn’t think substituting was necessary. I did have to use a regular pear as Asian pears are apparently too exotic for my local shops.
There are a few steps to this dish but nothing is complicated and it’s well worth the effort.
Technique for Korean BBQ Short Ribs
First it’s important to prep the ribs. There will be connective tissue that you want to remove as that will make the ribs tough when cooking.
Use a sharp knife to do this so you don’t take off too much meat in the process.
Prep the marinade ingredients. I won’t lie, grating onions is torture on the eyes. I’ve always been curious how the first human decided onion was a good thing because raw is very strong! But for this marinade you don’t want any big pieces, with the exception of the finely chopped garlic, so grating it is.
Mix well and add the beef. Make sure the beef is well coated. Cover and store in the fridge for at least 6 hours. I then sliced some red onion and covered it with apple cider vinegar.
Marinade the onion for a few hours in the fridge. It makes a great contrasting topping to this dish.
When it is time to grill the beef, warm up the grill to medium. For this, you don’t want to have the heat on high in order to keep the meat tender. You will still get a good sear on the meat. Patience, grasshopper is the way to go here.
While the meat is cooking, prep the other ingredients. We have a lot of fresh veg in our garden so we did up a bunch of veg sticks. For dipping sauces I heated up the beef marinade, mixed some sour cream with ginger and lime, then made a traditional dipping sauce. That sauce was equal parts Gochujang and yellow miso ( 2 tablespoons each), 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and a clove of finely chopped garlic. If you find it too thick of a paste add more oil a bit at a time.
Once the meat has rested, slice it and serve with the sauces and veg.
Use the lettuce as the wrap and top the beef with the toppings of your choice.
We all loved this dish with the all the flavours from the marinade. We will definitely be having this again.
Korean BBQ Short Ribs
A fun and delicious meal with beef short ribs.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless short rib
Marinade
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup Mirin
- 1/3 cup grated red onion
- 1 small pear or Asian pear, grated
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp seasame oil
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepping the Short Ribs
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Clean the beef by removing the connective tissue and any hard fat.
Marinade
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Mix all the ingredients of the marinade well. Add the beef and make sure it is covered completely. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
Cooking the meat
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Heat the grill to medium. Cook the meat until it is medium rare. The meat should have a nice sear without the sugars in the marinade becoming burnt. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes
Putting it all together
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Cut up different veg to accompany the BBQ. Slice the beef and serve with the veg and lettuce leaves. Heat the leftover marinade as a dipping sauce. Chopped green onions and pickled red onions are great toppers.
It is also great as part of an Asian tapas night or over rice. But for now we’re keeping it light until the cooler weather finally arrives. Hopefully that comes soon!