Galbijjim

The same cut as galbi, left whole, blanched and braised until a sauce reduces onto it, with nothing grilled at all.

Beef, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains beef.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef short ribs, in 5 cm pieces
• 300 g Korean radish, in large chunks
• 2 carrots, in large chunks
• 8 chestnuts, peeled, optional
• 6 dried jujubes
• 150 ml soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar or rice syrup
• half an Asian pear, grated
• 1 onion, grated
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 800 ml water
• black pepper
• pine nuts and shredded egg, to finish

Method

1. NOTHING IS GRILLED AND THE SAUCE REDUCES ONTO THE RIBS. They stay as whole blocks on the bone, go into liquid, and cook for two hours while that liquid reduces to a dark glaze clinging to the meat. The galbi on this site is the same cut butterflied thin and grilled in five minutes; this is the other thing you can do with it, and the two methods have nothing in common beyond the marinade ingredients.
2. THE RIBS ARE SOAKED AND THEN BLANCHED, and the blanching water is thrown away. An hour in cold water for the blood, then ten minutes at a boil, then rinse the ribs AND the pot. In a dish whose sauce is reduced to a quarter of its volume, any scum left behind is concentrated four times.
3. THE VEGETABLES ARE CUT LARGE AND GO IN LATE, and their corners are rounded off with a knife if you are being careful. Radish and carrot in for the full two hours collapse and cloud the glaze; in for the last forty minutes they stay in distinct pieces.
4. THE LID COMES OFF FOR THE LAST HALF HOUR. That is when the sauce actually reduces. Covered throughout, it stays a braise in thin liquid, which is pleasant and is not this dish.
5. AND IT IS BASTED AND TURNED IN THAT LAST HALF HOUR, every ten minutes, so the glaze goes onto every face of every rib rather than collecting in the pan.
6. Ribs soaked in cold water 1 HOUR, the water changed once.
7. Drained, covered with fresh water, boiled 10 MINUTES, and the WATER THROWN AWAY. Ribs and pot rinsed.
8. Shallow cuts scored into the thick parts of the meat.
9. Soy sauce, sugar, pear, onion, garlic, mirin, sesame oil and pepper whisked with the 800 ml of water.
10. The ribs and the liquid into a heavy pot, brought to a simmer, and any foam skimmed.
11. Covered and simmered gently 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES.
12. The radish, carrot, chestnuts and jujubes added. Covered and cooked 20 minutes more.
13. THE LID OFF and cooked a further 30 MINUTES, the ribs turned and basted every 10 minutes, until the sauce is dark, syrupy and coating them.
14. The surface fat spooned off.
15. Served with the pine nuts and shredded egg scattered over, and steamed rice as on its own page.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under South Korea · All recipes