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Authentic Kalbi Recipe South Korea, Asia

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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though

Introduction & history

Meaty, hearty, and packed with flavor, kalbi or galbi is a Korean take on barbecue which is popular on both sides of the Pacific. Preparing kalbi starts with a fresh piece of beef short ribs. The meat should be cut along the bone and then filleted into long thin strips following a more traditional manner. Alternatively, the meat is sliced thinly across the bone, which is a modern approach associated with the LA kalbi popular in the US. Next, the meat is soaked or thoroughly washed in cold water, and then marinated for a few hours or overnight. The marinade is typically a mixture of pear juice, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar or honey, green onion, garlic, sesame salt, sesame oil, and black pepper. After marinating, the meat is carefully drained, grilled shortly on both sides over charcoal, and brushed with the remaining marinade. When it comes to restaurants, the procedure is slightly different — the meat comes to the table marinated but still raw, accompanied with a gas ... Read more

Cooking tips

  • meat

    There are two ways to cut kalbi meat. The traditional method, called wang kalbi (king rib), suggests filleting the meat along the bone in a butterfly technique to form a thin strip, but the bone is not removed. Basically, this cut is one section of the rib and contains one piece of bone. For a more modern LA Kalbi, the meat is cut in thin slices across the bone, and most commonly includes 3 pieces ... Read more
  • soaking

    Most kalbi recipes call for soaking the meat in cold water before marinating, so all the excess blood and bone fragments are removed. The soaking time can range from 10 minutes to 3 hours, and it is advisable to change the water every hour.
  • marinade

    The juice of a Korean pear (bae or Nashi apple) is one of the essential ingredients for the kalbi marinade because its juice makes the meat juicier and softer. If you cannot find it, simply use a Bosc pear (also known as Kaiser pear) instead. In the recipes for LA kalbi, pineapple juice or fizzy drinks such as Coca Cola, Sprite and 7up are often used for the same purpose. Korean rice wine (cheongju)... Read more
  • grilling

    Home-made kalbi is generally prepared over a charcoal fire with a grill around 15 cm above the source of heat. In restaurants, on the other hand, the meat comes to the table pre-marinated, but raw, and each table is equipped with a gas or a charcoal grill, so that the guests can grill the meat themselves. Alternatively, kalbi can be prepared in a pan on a stove top — it should be cooked over high ... Read more
  • serving

    Kalbi is usually served with rice, lettuce, perilla leaves, vegetables, kimchi, and dipping sauce (ssamjang). The grilled meat is cut off the bone into bite sized pieces using scissors. The most common way to eat kalbi is by making a wrap (ssam) — simply stuff a large lettuce leaf with some meat, rice, and condiments, wrap it, and eat it like a burrito.
  • ssamjang dipping sauce

    A popular Korean dipping sauce is made by mixing soy bean paste, hot pepper paste, chopped green onion, minced garlic, honey, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.

Recipe variations

So-Kalbi-Gui

PREP 3h 50min

COOK 10min

READY IN 4h

4.4

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This classic recipe for grilled beef ribs was adapted from the official site of the Korea Tourism Organization, Visitkorea.or.kr. The meat is marinated in two different seasoning sauces, grilled over a charcoal fire, and sprinkled with pine nuts powder before serving.

Ingredients

40 Servings

So-Kalbi-Gui

660 g beef short ribs (on the bone)

SEASONING SAUCE 1

40 g Korean pear juice (from 100 g pear)

15 g (1 tbsp) refined rice wine

SEASONING SAUCE 2

36 g (2 tbsp) soy sauce

12 g (1 tbsp) sugar

15 g onion juice (from 1/3 onion)

9,5 g (½ tbsp) honey

14 g (1 tbsp) minced green onion

8 g (½ tbsp) minced garlic

0,3 g (⅛ tsp) ground black pepper

3 g (½ tbsp) sesame salt

13 g (1 tbsp) sesame oil

OTHER

13 g (1 tbsp) edible oil

10 g (1 tbsp) pine nuts

Preparation

1

So-Kalbi-Gui

Step 1/8

First, prepare the beef. Using a sharp knife, cut the beef ribs into 6 to 7 cm long pieces, removing the tendons and fat. Then, immerse the meat in a large bowl filled with water and let it soak for 3 hours. Change the water every hour.

Step 2/8

Pat the meat dry and slice it into 0,5-cm-thick slices without removing the bone. Make shallow incisions on both sides of the meat and set aside.

Step 3/8

Mix the ingredients for seasoning sauce 1 and seasoning sauce 2. Prepare 6 g of pine nuts powder.

Step 4/8

Place the beef in a deep bowl and marinade in seasoning sauce 1 for 10 minutes.

Step 5/8

Next, add 1/2 of the seasoning sauce 2 to the marinated meat, mix well with your hands, and marinade the meat for another 30 minutes.

Step 6/8

Put the grill 15 cm above the heat, brush with oil and preheat.

Step 7/8

Grill the beef ribs for 2 minutes on each side. Then, brush the meat with the remaining seasoning sauce 2, and grill for another minute.

Step 8/8

Sprinkle the meat with the remaining pine nuts powder, and serve.

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