Soups, stews, and braises – the season is upon us
I am a sucker for anything braised. Almost every single restaurant I’ve ever worked at has had a braised short rib dish on the menu at one point or another (for good reason.) With the weather cooling down and the days getting shorter, we all need a little more stick-to-the-ribs comfort food in our lives, right?
This braised short rib dish is perfect for those colder days and is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Galbi-jjim is a very popular dish usually made for special occasions and celebrations, but we used to eat this pretty often in my house growing up. My mom has made this recipe time and time again and has ultimately modernized it with an instant-pot. I still think the good ol’ stove-top method works the best.
My favorite part of galbi-jjim actually isn’t the short ribs, it’s the vegetables. The braised radishes, carrots, and mushrooms soak up all that amazing flavor from the braising liquid for the best umami bomb you’ve ever had.
What kind of short ribs should I use?
There are lots of different cuts of beef short ribs at the grocery store. For galbi-jjim, you need thick-cut bone-in beef short ribs. Don’t confuse it with lateral cut beef short ribs (LA galbi)! Those are used to make galbi or marinated grilled short ribs for Korean BBQ.
Can I make this in a pressure cooker or InstantPot?
Yes! If you use the InstantPot/pressure cooker method instead of the stovetop method, do not add any beef stock to the pot. Since the braising liquid won’t be able to evaporate off in the pressure cooker, the beef stock is not needed.
What if I can’t find some of these ingredients?
There is always be substitutions for almost any ingredient! If you can’t find:
Asian pear – Fuji apple or bosc pear
Soju – Any rice wine or dry white wine
Korean radish – Daikon radish
Fresh shiitake mushrooms – Dried shiitake mushrooms *I used fresh in my recipe, but dried is more common! The fresh ones I used were very small. I also really like mushrooms, so I added extra :)*
Galbi-jjim (Braised Short Ribs)
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lbs. Bone-In Short Ribs thick-cut
- 1/2 Onion
- 1 Carrot medium 1 in. diced
- 8 oz. Korean Radish 1 in. quartered
- 4-5 Shiitake Mushrooms quartered 10-12 if they’re small/keep whole
- 1/2 tbsp. Sesame Oil for finishing
- Chopped Scallions for garnish
Braising Liquid
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 Asian Pear
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 in. Ginger Knob
- 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Soju
Instructions
- Portion and lightly score short ribs. Soak in cold water for 30 minutes to 1 hour to draw out blood.
- Drain, rinse, and transfer ribs to a pot. Cover with fresh water, add 1/2 onion, and parboil for 10 minutes. Skim off any scum and impurities.
- Strain and rinse the ribs again. Discard the onion and reserve 1 cup of the beef broth.
- For braising liquid, blend together onion, asian pear, garlic, and ginger. Transfer to a bowl and add soy sauce, brown sugar, and soju. Mix until well-combined.
- Add the ribs back into the pot, pour over the braising liquid and 1 cup of reserved broth.
- Cover and cook on medium for 30 minutes.
- Prep carrots, Korean radish, and shiitake mushrooms.
- Add the carrots and radish to the pot, cover and cook on medium low for 45 minutes.
- When the carrots and radishes can pierce through with a fork, add in the mushrooms. Cook uncovered on medium high for another 15-20 minutes to reduce the liquid to half.
- Finish with sesame oil and chopped scallions.