Braised Short Rib (갈비찜, Galbi Jjim)
Galbi Jjim is generally served during special occasions. You will not see this on a menu at a Korean restaurant because this dish requires hours of slow cooking. It is made with a mother’s love because it is usually the main dish of the meal, and takes hours to prepare!
Galbi Jjim may seem daunting at first, but If you follow this basic recipe, you can start this in the afternoon, and be done by dinnertime. TIP: I, personally, like to cook this dish in a Dutch Oven or Braiser Pan for even cooking and braising.
Quick notes:
🇺🇸 All ingredients can typically be found at large grocery stores.
👨👩👧👦 Serves 4 people
👍🏻 Very easy and great for beginners!
What you'll need:
Main Ingredients:
3 lbs of beef short rib (look for good marbling!)
3 carrots
1 cup Korean radish (can substitute with 1-2 small potatoes)
Braising Liquid:
2 cups of water
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
1 medium onion sliced
6 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon of minced ginger (optional)
¼ Korean or Bosc pear pureed (optional)
1 tablespoon of mirin (rice wine)
Fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Instructions:
Prepare the meat:
Cut short ribs with slits as shown. Boil enough water to cover the meat in a large pot. Place meat into the boiling water for 15 minutes to draw out the fat and blood from the meat. Discard the water and rinse the meat. Place the meat into a dutch oven or braiser (a large pot is fine too).
Prepare the braising liquid:
Combine all the ingredients listed above under 'braising liquid.' Pour liquid over the meat, and bring to a boil over medium/high heat for 20 minutes. Then reduce heat to a simmer, and cover the pot. Simmer on low heat for at least 2 hrs total.
TIP: If you have a Vitamix then make the braising liquid with it! You can place whole garlic cloves, the ginger, onion, and Korean or Bosc pear straight into the blender with liquid components! Don’t put the sesame oil in the Vitamix though, because the smell is very strong and will be difficult to clean.
Prepare the vegetables:
Prep your vegetables in the meantime. Cut the carrots and Korean radish into large chunks. Throw the vegetables in to the pot about 1 hr after the meat has been simmering.
Now the rest:
Cook until vegetables are soft (time may vary depending on how large your vegetable chunks are, mine took about 1 hr). When you are about to serve, uncover the pot, turn the heat up to high for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid (or longer as needed).
And when you're done, be sure to post some pictures and tag them with #ahjummarecipes. I'd love to see your results!