Korean BBQ Short Ribs (Galbi)

Having spent considerable time in various eateries throughout South Korea, salivating over Gal-Bi, and missing it, I was brought back with this recipe. Thank you. I sent some with my spouse, to serve to an elderly Korean girl friend of hers. It definitely passed the test. She loved it. She offered a suggestion...Pepsi. She told me to add Pepsi! I added about a quarter can to the recipe and it rocks! Either way it's a great, great Korean taste to die for.

One of my new favorites, and always a huge hit at barbecues (cut into one bone per piece and served as finger food) or dinner parties (served over rice). I've always made it exactly as suggested, and typically marinate it over night. A lot of people have been slow cooking this, and that's good too, but I definitely think it's best grilled. I recommend using hardwood charcoal, which burns hotter, and cooking for 3-4 minutes per side. This cut of meat is sometimes hard to find, and even when you can, the selection can be very inconsistent -- too thick or too fatty. If it's too thick, it helps to pound it out into thinner slices.

Slow cooked in crock pot - fabulous!!!

Can't see how you can go wrong with this recipe. I put everything together in the crock pot and cooked it on low all day. I used pork baby back ribs, (I boiled them first), but this would work with chicken, beef, old socks, you name it. So good.

This is a five star recipe! My husband and kids all loved it. I changed the recipe a little, I used hot sesame oil, left out the sugars and instead used a couple of squirts of honey and it turned out perfect! Next time I'll try adding chopped green onions. Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe!

I am korean and i love this recipe. i like to use a lemon/lime soda like sprite in place of water and i also use my hand blender and mince the onions so the flavor really gets in. i also use low sodium soy sauce and it tastes great! thanks for sharing this recipe.

This was excellent! I marinated for about 36 hours and followed the recipe, except I slow baked mine in the oven and then placed the ribs under the broiler to crisp up. The flavor was divine! Thanks for the post!

I followed this recipe with the exception of the white sugar-I just used slightly less then a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and I added a few teaspoons of chili oil (we prefer more spicy to sweet). I let it marinate overnight and then threw it in the crock pot for 4 hours-it was SO yummy! Meat just fell off the bone! Next time I would probably serve with some form of potato vs. rice as the sauce is pretty greasy for pouring over rice. Enjoy!

Off the hook!! Follow this recipe exactly as written. You will not be sorry. I did have the ribs butterflied by the butcher and cooked them on my All Clad grille pan. Simply delicious! Thank you for sharing.

If you want to use a slow cooker, you may add some peeled potatoes chopped into chunks of 1 1/2 - 2 inches. It's pretty good as well, and use beef flanken instead of using california ribs.

This recipe is unbelievable! I couldn't find beef short ribs so I used pork country ribs. I followed the recipe exactly as its written. my husband loves my cooking anyway, but he raved about these ribs. I made fried rice as a side dish. Wonderful together! I've got them marinating now for tonight. I think I'm going to try to boil some of the marinade and serve a little bit as a dipping sauce with them. I'll edit this and let you know how that turns out. These are perfect!

Oh, was this fantastic! I used boneless short ribs; cut back a little on the minced garlic because the amount in the recipe made me nervous; added two teaspoons of sesame seeds to the marinade. Marinated overnight, then put meat & marinade in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours. Browned under the broiler briefly. Served with Jasmine rice, ladling the sauce over everything. Definitely a keeper.

Amazing - and I did it without a BBQ or grill. I only made one substitution: replaced the water with Coke at the suggestion of a friend who makes these all the time. Then marinated for almost 24 hours, braised in a dutch oven at 300 for 4 hours. Removed the ribs, strained, defatted, and reduced the liquid. Brushed it back onto the ribs and broiled for 5-7 minutes per side. First time ever making ribs and it was a knockout.

Marinated for 36hours. Could have easily done so for 2 days and the flavor would have been even better.

soooo Ono (good)!! In Hawaii, we say "Kal-Bi", no matter, it totally rocks. I couldn't remember how make the marinade, thanks so much! I didn't add the Pepsi (from Brian's suggestion), but I do add 1/4 to 1/2 can of Pineapple/Passion Orange juice by Hawaiian Sun. Not sure if its available in the mainland states though, so if you'd like, just add 1/2 cp pineapple juice and maybe a squeeze of orange juice. Alright!!! Now we kau kau. (grind)

Marinade is delicious. I highly recommend. I had to cook this in the oven (no BBQ) and next time I would do it slightly differently. Last night I just cooked it for 40 mins on 375 degrees but the ribs were still pretty fatty. I like them a little drier so I would cook them at 350 for maybe an hour on a rack (so they aren't sitting in a pool of grease) and then broil them for maybe 5 minutes. I think that would dry them out a little more and they would be a little crunchier. I also recommend keeping a little of the marinade separate from the beef and heating it up to serve with the rice with dinner. Just de-lish!

This recipe was great. My suggestion would be to marinate for the full 12 hours. I made the recipe almost as writted. I had more meat, so I doubled the marinade, excluding the garlic, onion, and sesame oil. I also added 2 ends of a green onion. I'm not a big sesame oil fan, thats why I didn't include the double amount. Regardless, great recipe. Will definately make again, but marinate longer.

Really easy and really good. I did make some adjustments. I added season salt, onion powder, black pepper, and red wine vinegar to the marinade. I also used the marinade once removing the ribs. I simmered it down with some chopped celery, bay leaves and minced onions and used it to drizzle on top of the finished grilled ribs. Once I drizzled the sauce, I put them in the oven covered on 350 to bake for 30 minutes and they came out very tender and full of flavor. This is a keeper. Yum.

My husband LOVES these. I make them in the crockpot. They always turn out tender and delish. I have marinated overnight and just threw everything in the cockpot and turned it on. Turns out great either way! I only use half of the garlic. Sometimes I use beer instead of water. I want to try adding pineapple to the mixture next.

I made this receipe and modified it quite a bit. I used the exact ingredients called for, except what I did completely different was I soaked the meat in cold water to take out the impurities, I did this for about 45 min., then I boiled the ribs for 2 hours. I added some garlic from the jar to increase the flavour. (For 3 people I used 7 very meaty beef ribs.) At the 2 hour mark you can tell the ribs are starting to soften up. I then transferred the meat to a casserole dish and poured the mixture of it. I cooked it at 400 degrees for 1 hour in the oven. It was so flavorful and tender. The meat fell right off the bone! These are by far the best beef ribs I've ever made!

Loved these ribs! I cooked them in the crock pot on low overnight and warmed them back up with some carrots. I served them with white short grain rice to complete the meal. The best meal we have had in a long time. The sauce was perfect poured over the rice.

Simple, quick, and delicious. You have to at least try this once!

I didn't have sesame oil, so used canola oil instead and they turned out great. I will definitely be making these again!

I used ribs in the crock pot. Even tho they all fell off the bone everyone LOVED them. The kids actually fought over the last of the meat..will have to make a lot more next time. I made rice to go with. Put in pineapple juice as someone recommended. Let cook on low from 9:30 to 3, then on Keep warm til we ate at 5. Next time I will use boneless and make a lot more!!! My 4yr old son is still crying for more meat!!

I used this marinade for both thin sliced flank steak skewered on the grill, and with short ribs in the slow cooker. I marinated both overnight. Both were good but we preferred the flank steak. The ribs were too fatty, probably because I couldn't find the flanken cut ribs, so I used the traditional cut. But the marinade is excellent and very close to what we get at our local Korean BBQ restaurant.

I've had some real Korean Kalbi and this was not nearly as good as the kind in the restaurant, but my family enjoyed it nonetheless. I might try to add some other spices, such as ginger, green onion and sesame seeds to see if it resembles the real Korean taste.

There are many variations to this recipe that I suggest you try. In my family's recipe, we add diced (asian) pears and red wine. You can add other fruits to it as well and it turns out even more delicious.

Very easy to make and absolutely delicious. The hardest part is looking for that specific cut of meat, usually in Korean or Japanese supermarkets.

Pretty good but not authentic

this was really good. my husband loved it! I didnt have time to marinate the ribs as indicated, and it still came out great! i also ran out of brown sugar, so i substitued some molasses. I can't wait to make this again so i can marinate the meat for more flavor. I also crock potted it for about 6-7 hours on low. easy and yummy! I've also used this marinade on pork roast in the crock pot.. melt in your mouth goodness!

I made this recipe for the first time and it was a hit. My kids loved it. I also substituted chicken for my husband since he's trying to limit his red meat. I did as the recipe said and it was soooo good.

My husband and I can't get enough of these! They are fantastic! Made exactly as directed. They come out perfect every time.

The store was out of short ribs so I used some surloin stakes insted,cut them into long stips marrinating them over night,then grilling them on the BBQ.I also use this recipe for beef jurky,a must try

I have used this recipe several times, and would like to believe I am a good judge of Tasty Short-Ribs. Yum!!!

Tried it and loved it, did the crock pot way, used frozen beef ribs, threw everything in. Also made a veg. melody with squash, zuc's, tomatoes, green onions and onion in sesame oil and soy sauce,(What I had on hand) stripped the meat from the bone and since it pulled apart easily shredded it into the veggies and added left over liquid from crock pot, used baster to get liquid under beef grease, then with what was left put in freezer to skim off for later use on other recipes. Served it all over fluffy rice, Hubby loved it, he added more soy sauce for his taste, all in all it's a keeper. Thanks!!

Very good recipe. Instead of white & brown sugar you can use honey, which works just as well. Although the soy sauce version tastes good...in my opinion using teriyaki sauce instead gives it a better taste.

So yummy! Before serving, I added a few drops of sesame oil and sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds.

I love this recipe! I follow as directed and serve with rice and green lettuce (Bangja Gui) I make a sauce to go with the lettuce wraps. Soy, sriracha, water, brown sugar, garlic powder, and a lil sesame oil. I don't know the measurements...I just add a lil here and a lil there.

Great. My partner doesn't normally like marinated meats. This is the exception. It would be best (like most other meats) to cook over the grill, but we made do with stove-top cooking. Added stir fry veggies on the side. Summer plans include grilled pineapple.

Very Yummy. Made some alterations for my 3 pounds of boneless short ribs. I reduced the amount of black pepper and sesame oil by 1/2. After tasting the sauce mixture, I found it to be too salty and acidic for my liking, so an additional 2 tablespoons of brown sugar were added. It is also the middle of the winter, so bbq grilling was not an option. Instead of slow cooking it as others suggested, I then pan fried it to a medium-rare to get that browning on the edges. Also, instead of discarding marinade, I actually kept it and used it to cook with the meat as well. As the marinade cooked and reduced, it became a great gravy sauce to top the short ribs with. Whole thing came out very delicious. It's a keeper!

Excellent recipe. I altered it slightly by first braising the ribs in a slow cooker for 4 hours & then finishing on the grill. Served with Asian coleslaw, and it was DELICIOUS. Please see my blog post on this recipe for additional pictures: http://kitchenandcraftadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/korean-bbq-short-ribs.html

This recipe is off the hook. I have been searching for a good bbq recipe and this is it. I am telling my friends. I made exactly as the recipe said with the exception of I also added a pear as someone else suggested. Also, I took all of the hard ingredients (pear, onion, garlic etc.) and blended them for a couple of seconds instead of chopping them. It gave the marinade a lot of flavor. At first it smelled like the onions were going to be too strong this way, but it turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe.

It was probably my fault because I did these in a crock pot BUT they looked, smelled and tasted bland. I had to special order the ribs because I wanted to follow the recipe in terms of ingredients. I think if I'd used pork short ribs and cooked as directed, they would have been much better. Ono Spareribs (later found in my recipe folder) are wonderful and that's what I was picturing.

Wonderful! My 5-year-old triplets ask for second helping.

Delicious! My husband and I love this sauce and I've been making them almost every week with beef short-ribs. Thank you for sharing!

I am updating review... I now LOVE it. Versatile like no other. I was searching for an easy crockpot (quick version is to simmer in pot on stove) recipe for beef ribs for two people. I didn't have time to let them marinate. I didn't have sesame oil and I used olive oil, eyeballed all other ingredients. I slow cooked them for about 5 hours (2 hours for simmering, be sure to use onion & garlic if nothing else) and they were about to fall apart. We threw them on the bbq and used Pappy's White Lightning bbq sauce from Bass Pro Shop. YUM! The ribs were so tender, so tasty even before we put the bbq sauce on. You might not need oil if you are slow cooking this as my ribs were already fatty, but I won't take anything away from this simple and flexible recipe. We used to bake our ribs before bbq but my husband wants me to do them this way from now on. THANK YOU!

I LOVE this recipe. It tastes just like the Galbi you have in the Korean restaurants in Koreatown here in LA. I can't always get short ribs with the bone in so the boneless large pack at Costco works just fine. I add a bit of crushed pineapple or minced Kiwi to the marinade to tenderize the meat. My Korean gf gave me that suggestion and it works wonders.

Truely a 5 star recipe. Can't go wrong with it the way it's written. I'm in Okinawa and our base commissary always seems to have flanken style ribs for very reasonable prices. So, we have them a couple times per month. An Okinawan lady told me to put an Asian pear in the blender with all other ingredients. (Asian pears are shaped more like an apple and have greenish yellow skin) The pear will tenderize the meat and it produces an unbelievable taste. I've also put pineapple juice and fresh pineapple in the marinade before too.

My hubby loved this!! I boiled the ribs for about 15-20 minutes before throwing it in the crock pot. Sauce went in (substituted water for chicken stock and pepper for red pepper flakes). Cooked it for about 6 hours and threw in some slice green onions before serving. No leftovers and it was just the 2 of us!

DH accidentally burnt these on the grill, but they were still very good. A keeper.

Very tasty, but a little too much black pepper. Sesame oil makes it hot enough - a whole tablespoon is a little overkill - crock pot is the way to go

Absolutely loved it! Made it exactly as instructed except only marinated it for 5 hours and it still tasted delicious! My husband and son both loved it as well. I'll make this all summer long.

AWESOME!! I marinated my short ribs for 1 1/2 days...They smelled sooo good after coming off the grill I didnt even have time to take pic. I blinked and they were gone!

My one and only korean-style marinade. You don't necessarily have to use shorts ribs all the time (it can get pricey). If lucky, sometimes I would use various types of tender beef cuts that has some kind of fat in it.

too much pepper

These are great! We have made these two weekends in a row and they make two meals for us. We pair them with the three cheese scalloped potatoes on this site.

I slow cooked these and the taste could not be better. I think I picked slightly the wrong cut of rib (mine was labeled 'beef back ribs') because there was barely any meat to be found within the bones and fat. Every piece of meat I retrieved however was delicious.

Really enjoy the flavours of this. washed meat before hand after reading a review. Marinaded beef ribs for approx 30 hours. Used pineapple for the last hour to help break down the meat to tenderize it. Worked great. However I made enough ribs to try two different methods of cooking, I've done the grill before and it wasn't operational from the cold weather so I fried them in the frying pan and tried slow roasting in the oven. The oven method did not turn out well. I think they need to be cooked fast. The frying pan was great to cook them. Fresh out of the pan they have a lot of flavour.

I made this recipe for a crowd of people and the flew off the plate!! I followed the directions, as is, except washing the rib first in cold water to rinse away any bone fragments. (as someone else suggested) I let them marinade over night, cooking them on the grill around 5pm the next day. They were to die for!! I do not understand how they could be tough unless they are overcooked?!?!?!?!? Thank you for the recipe. I have stockpiled korean ribs in my freezer so I can make them again and again!

Very good marinade.

Super easy and delicious! I always add some type of citrus to help tenderizing. Other than that I follow this recipe to the letter. We've made these ribs on the BBQ and in the Crock Pot. Both ways is great. Marinating overnight is key.

So I've tried this recipe twice now, in two very different ways and either way hasn't turned out amazing.

This was a hit with everyone. I didn’t have onion but ended up using chopped green onions instead. I also used a low sodium soy sauce. It turned out delicious over the grill. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing.

This was a great recipe. However I just added some chopped cayenne peppers for some kick.

Made exactly as recipe instructed and loved it. Will be making it again annd again.

Excellent and authentic recipe, thank you!

Well, I deviated for my own taste. I used 1 C low sodium Kikkoman soy, 1/2C water, 2 tblsp rice vinegar, 1/2 cup brn sugar, 1/2 tsp fresh grnd black pepper. Original measurements w/sesame oil & garlic but used 4 chopped up grn onions, 1 tsp of sesame seeds, a tsp of ginger paste and the juice from 1 small can of pineapple to tenderize. Mixed all that up and put in a large ziplock bag with 2lbs of plain ol' beef short ribs (after rinsing & soaking in cold water for an hour). Marinaded for 24 hours. I couldn't wait to fire up the grill (finally) and even though my short ribs were about 3" wide, they grilled up tender and so flavorful. I got meaty short ribs which I cut a layer of fat off and pulled off that piece of tough membrane like pork ribs have on the underside. I forgot to have the butcher cut them into thinner slices across the bones but will next time for a more authentic dish. Even my thicker cut turned out awesome. Next time short ribs are on sale I will buy like 6 lbs and have them cut properly. I love this recipe even tho I changed it a bit. Served with fresh sesame green beans and sticky rice. GREAT, Love it!

This was very good. I use boneless short ribs. Eye balled the soy and oil. I also added hot pepper sauce and wasbi. I cooked in a crock pot and the last 15 min I added rice noodles. Would also try making with pork loin another time. If you don't have sesame oil you can use olive oil. Oh and I also add about 4 large portabella's I had chopped up.

Absolute perfection! After marinating overnight I browned the ribs in a small bit of oil, placed in the crockpot, simmered the remaining marinade in the same pan to reduce a bit and scrape up the brown bits, then poured over the ribs and cooked on "HI" for 4 hours.

GREAT Flavor.... pretty close to what you would get at your local Korean Restaurant. I used some thicker sliced spare ribs but would say stick to the thin ones. Overall - Great Recipe – would make a good steak marinade too!

Very delish! I read one of the reviews and it said that this cut is hard to find. Mostly, you can find this cut in Asian markets. Most big enough Asian market carries it.

This was excellent and so easy to make. I also cooked this in the crockpot and the meat was so tender.

My favorite! I have used this recipe several times and it makes my mouth water just thinking about making this.

delish! substituted sprite for water. 1/2 low sodium soy sauce and 1/2 coconut soy sauce. dumped it all in the crockpot and simmered on low for 8hrs. was soooo good. meat fell off the bones. ate with egg noodles. leftovers went into the fridge and peeled off the fat the next day. chopped the meat up, removed the bones and ate again over fried rice. can't wait to make it again for company

EVERYONE loved this dish!!! There are no complaints or any changes that needs to be done here.

Tastes great! Even my grandson (age 3) liked it. Easy and quick. I followed this recipe "to a t" and it was fine, although it may be a tad salty for some folks. Just remember, you need to plan ahead for this since it requires some time to marinade.

In case anyone is going...Wow, that's a long time to marinate. Do not cheat the marinate time. If you have TMJ, your jaws will get a workout. I'll rate it 5 stars because I know it'll be good next time.

Awesome recipe!! followed everything exactly make 1-2 a week. goes great with korean salad with sesame dressing that is also on this site..

I tried this recipe twice and still do not care for it and do not think it is authentic. I lived in Korea for two years and this recipe doesn't taste like the dish I ate when I lived there. I tried it in the crockpot, as one reviewer suggested, that was terrible and not very flavorful as the crockput ends up having too much water and the meat was tasteless. The second time, I broiled it thinking it would be better and didn't care for the taste of the meat that way either. I marinated it a long time and was very disappointed. I will not make this again.

Simply delicious.

This marinade is really awesome! I couldnt find the proper cut on the ribs, but thought the marinade was great! Im trying to think of what else I could put this on! YUM!

Great but too fatty for BK

Delicious flavor. I think if you don't use the flanken short ribs, these need to be cooked for a very long time either in a slow cooker, low oven or slowly on the stovetop to make these less fatty and tenderize them a bit. Next time, I'll be sure we use the flanken cut ribs. Definitely will be using this recipe a lot.

Holy cow...! I used this recipe for pork short ribs...phenomenal!

I made this in the crock-pot and it turned out very well, next time I will try grilling/broiling it. I omitted the white sugar to help reduce calories and it was still very good. Thanks for sharing.

This is so delicious. I made it for a birthday party. It was a favorite.

used as a marinade for ground beef and stir fried it with left over rice and some veggies, and it was delicious!

Restaurant quality and very Asian taste!

Family favorite! Followed recipe as is, but only marinated for about 7 hours & they were wonderful. Served with an Asian Slaw & grilled asparagus...delicious!!

I have made this so many times, and it has been perfect every time. It is really easy to prepare, as well. I have made it for a lot of different people, who have all raved about it. I've used different cuts of beef including tenderloin tips, sirloin tips, boneless short ribs, bone-in short ribs, and it has always been so tasty. Last night, I baked bone-in short ribs on a rack, in a convection oven setting at 275ºF for about 40 minutes. They turned out really well. Enjoy!

I think this recipe is wonderful! But I must tell you all my mistake and not to make the same one....I like lots of sauce so I doubled everything, including the GARLIC. Double everything else if you like sauce but for heaven's sake, use the same amt. of garlic. I didn't think it was possible to use too much but now I've learned. I came home to a house smelling like a garlic explosion. I did use the crock pot, they are nice and tender. I will make again, but with much less garlic, esp. if doubling the marinade ingredients.

Made it as written...minus the sesame oil..I was out. My 14 year old son and I loved it!! Did it in the crock pot and served with egg noodles!!

As good as one of my favorite Korean restaurants I frequent, this is a treat during the summer when we grill. One of these days I'll try to pan cook it, but only after I get some better cookware. I also added kiwi to the marinade, and the meat was falling off the bone. Thank you for this recipe, it's one of my favorites.

I didn't follow the measurements exactly I just poured things to taste. I did add sliced green onions instead of the mince onion and added a grated pear to help tenderize it. Definitely get the flanken style shortribs. I love the chewy skin part near the bone! yum! Note: it gets very smokey if you grill indoors learn that the hard way =) will definitely try making it with the slow cooker as some reviewers did

perfect! just like my friends mom makes:)

Really very good. I changed it up a bit. I lightly dredged the ribs in flour salty and pepper and browned in bacon grease. Deglazed pan with beef stock an added with chopped bacon and some of the grease to the liquid and cooked in my pressure cooker on high pressure for 1 hour.

excellent, just like in a korean restaurant

The flavor of the sauce is unbelievable. I boiled the marinade for a few minutes and poured it over rice. Delicious! While I enjoyed the charbroiled medium rare beef on the grill, next time I think I will use the crockpot for more tenderness.

Sooooo AMAZING!! I used boneless short ribs and followed the remaining ingredients exactly and marinated for 17 hours. The previous comments were helpful. Marinating for longer is better. I made this for a dinner party and everyone loved them. Will definitely make this again!