Korean Marinated Short Ribs (LA Galbi) - CJ Eats Recipes (2024)

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Korean Marinated Short Ribs, also known as LA Galbi, are a specific type of Galbi (Korean Grilled Ribs), and they are one of my favorite meats to grill! They are tender and flavorful in the sweet Galbi marinade, and perfect for grilling over hot coals, broiling in the oven, or searing over the cast iron skillet.

You can easily make delicious Korean BBQ at home. Making this type of BBQ at home may seem intimidating, but it’s extremely easy to do because it’s mostly inactive cooking time marinating the meat. It’s really simple to make!

Watch the Korean Marinated Beef Short Ribs Recipe Video Below!

These Korean short ribs come out delicious every time! The ribs are so juicy and tender, and when grilled they develop a wonderful char from the grill due to the sugar content in the marinade. They’re absolutely incredible!

I love cooking these ribs on the grill, but you can also broil them in the oven, or cook them up on the pan or cast iron at home!

Ingredients for Korean Marinated Short Ribs

You only need a few ingredients to make these delicious short ribs. Here is what you’ll need to make them!

• 3 lb Beef Short Ribs (cut flanken style, which is lengthwise across the bone – they will usually come thinner and include 3 pieces of bone with each rib)
• 1Korean Pear
• 1onionwhite or yellow
• 10clovesgarlic
• 1inchginger
• 3/4cuplow sodium soy sauce
• 1/2cupwater
• 1/3cupbrown sugar
• 1/4cupmirin
• 2tbspsesame oil
• 1/2tspblack pepper

How To Select Your Short Ribs

Typically at the butcher or grocery store, short ribs are sold two ways:

• English Cut – the ribs are separated completely and cut along with the meat. This is a cut you’ll typically see when short ribs are braised and come with a thicker section of meat. Traditionally for Galbi, this section is butterflied into a long, thin piece of short rib and grilled.

• Flanken Cut – this is the cut we’re after for this type of Galbi, also known as LA Galbi (based on the city where this style of grilled short ribs originated). The ribs are cut into thin strips across the rib bones, and typically include 3 bones in each piece of rib. You can find this cut more commonly at your local Asian supermarket.

Cooking Korean Marinated Short Ribs: Recipe Instructions

Rinse the Short Ribs

Begin by rinsing the ribs in cold water. These short ribs are cut flanken style, which may mean they have some loose bone fragments on them and extra sediment, which you definitely don’t want to eat. Rinse the ribs, drain the water, and set them aside!

Prepare the Marinade for the Korean Marinated Short Ribs

Once the ribs are rinsed, now it’s time to make the base of the marinade. To a blender, add Korean pear, onion, garlic and ginger, then blend on high until it becomes a smooth pulp.

Blend the ingredients

The next step will be to blend the ingredients together into a pulp. Blending is the easiest method here, but if you don’t have a blender you can always use a food processor or grate the vegetables and fruit by hand. Using an Asian or Korean pear is key for this recipe because it includes an enzyme called Calpain which helps tenderize the meat. If you can’t find Korean pears near you, apples or even kiwis can work as a substitute.

Strain the Pulp (optional)

This step is optional, but I like to strain the pulp from the juice after it is blended. I find that the pulp can sometimes burn easily on the ribs, and you really only need the juice to incorporate the flavor into the meat. I simply take a cheese cloth or a reusable nut milk bag to strain out the pulp and extract the juice into a large mixing bowl!

Add the seasonings to the marinade

Add the seasoning ingredients (low sodium soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and black pepper). Stir the marinade until the sugar is fully dissolved. Now you’re ready to marinate your ribs!

Marinate the ribs

Marinate the ribs make sure they are fully submerged in the marinating liquid. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and put them in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight for best results.

Cook the ribs

Grill the ribs over medium high/high heat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until they develop a nice crust around the ribs! These ribs will not take long at all to cook since they are cut so thinly, which is perfect for a quick and easy meal during the week. They’re also a wonderful main dish to bring to a barbeque or for some weekend grilling activities 🙂

Cook the ribs until they develop a nice crust on the outside like in the photo below. These only took about 2 minutes per side over high heat.

What to Serve with Korean Marinated Short Ribs

The ribs are done! I serve my short ribs with a variety of banchan, such as kimchi or cucumber salad. You can also serve them with red leaf lettuce, perilla leaf, and sprinkle them with sesame seeds for garnish. Enjoy!

If you liked these Korean Short Ribs, check out some of my other popular Korean meat and side dish recipes!

• Beef Bulgogi
• Spicy Pork Bulgogi
• Korean Cucumber Salad
• Korean Bean Sprout Side Dish
• Korean Spinach Salad