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This recipe gives you sticky, sweet beef ribs lacquered with a pear, soy, and sesame marinade, grilled until lightly charred, and served on the bone.
Table of Contents
Why This Korean Short Ribs (Galbi) Recipe Delivers
This recipe solves the two things that usually make homemade galbi disappointing…tough meat, and burnt sugar. The combo of pear AND kiwi in the marinade utilizes a “dual enzyme” strategy to tenderize the beef a bit more aggressively than pear only recipes… And instead of grilling the ribs once over screaming heat, you cook them in short passes and brush on more marinade as you go, which lets the outside build a sticky, caramelized lacquer instead of turning black and bitter.
Brian’s Pro Tips
Wash Ribs Before Marinating – Flanken cut ribs come off a bandsaw and are usually caked in powdery bone dust. Rinse under cold water to get that off, then dry them really, really well on paper towels. Wet meat repels marinade so the soy and fruit mixture will slide right off a damp rib instead of clinging to it.
The Marinade Sweet Spot – The recipe calls for 12-18 Hours of marination time. Less than this and the meat wont be quite as luxuriously tender as we want. More than this and the enzymes in the fruits can break down the proteins in the meat too much, leaving the texture mushy. I’ve had this mushy meat in K BBQ places several times and it’s a bummer. The texture is no longer meat-like.
Lubed Up Grill – Sugar in the marinade makes these extra prone to grabbing onto the grates. Go heavy with pan spray or a generous wipe from an oil soaked paper towel right before you lay the ribs down gives you a clean release on the first flip. Don’t skip this step.
Short Cycles, Full Attention – Once the meat is on, stay at the grill and flip every 2 minutes after the initial sear. Since the marinade is high sugar, if one side stays exposed to the direct heat for too long you risk burning. More flipping is better than less.
Key Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Full ingredient list and amounts listed in the recipe card below.
Flanken Cut Short Ribs – Also sold as “cross-cut” or “korean-style” short ribs. These are not the same thing as regular bone-in short ribs. The thin cut is what makes this dish work. The meat tenderizes quickly in the marinade, cooks fast on the grill, and gives you little bone sections that are genuinely fun to gnaw on. Asian markets, butcher shops, and Whole Foods always carry them. If you can’t find them, sub in skirt steak or flank steak. Two-bone pork rib sections also work surprisingly well and deliver a very similar fatty, salty, sweet, grilled-on-the-bone experience.
Asian Pear – The tenderizing enzyme in pear is pretty weak compared to kiwi, so the pear is contributing more to flavor than to texture here. Asian pear has this aromatic, lightly sweet quality that’s almost like a crisp white wine. In a pinch, a Bosc or Bartlett pear works as a substitute, just make sure its ripe.
Kiwi – Kiwi is doing most of the actual tenderizing work. Its enzyme, actinidin, is significantly more aggressive at breaking down protein than the pear enzyme. The flavor is neutral enough that you don’t really taste “kiwi” in the finished galbi. It just makes the meat noticeably more tender and bulletproof on the grill. Pineapple would be a good swap for a similar enzymatic action here. Just use about half as much pineapple as you would kiwi because the enzyme in pineapple (bromelain) is more aggressive and can make mushy meat in less time.
How To Make Korean Short Ribs (Galbi)
This section is a deep dive into the recipe process and step-by-step photos. If you’re short on time, you can find the streamlined version in the recipe card below.
1. Prep the Ribs. Rinse each short rib under cold water to wash off any bone dust leftover from the butcher. Lay them out on paper towels and dry them really, really well. Wet meat repels marinade, so don’t rush this step. Pat until they feel genuinely dry to the touch.
2. Blend the Marinade. Combine the soy sauce, salt, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, Asian pear, kiwi, onion, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in a blender. Blend for 1 minute or until completely smooth. Taste it. It’ll be intensely salty and sweet with a distinct sesame and pear aroma.
3. Marinate the Ribs. Lay all the ribs in 2 layers in a 9×13 baking dish. Pour the blended marinade over them and brush every piece so it’s heavily coated on both sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-18 hours. Overnight is ideal.
Can I skip the overnight marinade? You can give these as little as 2 hours and still get decent results, but the galbi loses more than half its flavor and tenderness when you rush it. The enzymes need time to work. If you can commit to overnight, do it.
4. Preheat the Grill. Heat Grill to 450-500°F (250°C) to start. It will cool once cold meat hits it. A lukewarm grill steams the meat instead of searing it and you need that initial blast of heat to set a real crust and keep the ribs from sticking.
5. Oil the Grates and Start the First Sear. Right before the meat goes on, spray or wipe the grates liberally with oil, then lay each rib on the grill, letting the excess marinade drip off first. You don’t need a thick coating going on, just what’s already clinging to the meat. Too much pooled marinade on the surface means the sugar will burn into a bitter black crust before the meat cooks. Close the lid and sear 3-4 minutes. If you know your grill runs hot, check back after 2 minutes to be sure the sugar in the marinade isn’t burning (if it is, flip sooner and reduce heat to medium).
How do I know when to flip after the initial sear? Peek under one piece — you want deep mahogany color with real char marks where it touched the grates. If it sticks when you try to lift it, give it another 30 seconds. Caramelized meat releases itself from the grates when it’s ready.
6. Flip, Brush, Caramelize. Open the lid, flip the ribs over, then brush the top side of each rib with fresh marinade. Reduce heat to medium, close the lid and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Open, flip, brush, and close a second maneuver 3 more times. Don’t brush with marinade on the last flip (you’ll likely be out of marinade at this point anyway).
The total cook time for these ribs should be in the ballpark of 10-12 minutes (3-5 minutes on high, 6-9 minutes on medium) depending on how hot your grill is and how much char and caramelization the ribs are taking on.
How do I get that lacquered caramelization without burning it? Short cycles. I usually don’t go longer than 2 minutes per side. This is similar to how you naturally cook socially at a Korean BBQ restaurant. You‘re sipping your HITE beers while chatting and flipping until the meat looks charred and tasty. USe your senses and keep it moving.
7. Rest and Serve. Pull the ribs off the grill and let them rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board. They’re thin, so they don’t need long, but even a brief rest lets the juices redistribute and lets the caramelized exterior firm up. The short rest time makes the texture better when you bite in.
Cut into bite-sized pieces with scissors (between the bones) and serve immediately with white rice and kimchi.
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Pin ItStorage & Make-Ahead
The marinade can be made 2-3 days ahead and kept in the fridge. The ribs can marinate for up 24 hours before I start to worry about texture loss. At 48 hours your still probably ok, but its not ideal. They will also start to get salty at that point.
I really like the brownie pan lid for this BTW. You can likely get it at the grocery store next to the cheap brownie pans (or on amazon via this link). The lid gives you the ability to stack stuff on top of the ribs in the fridge which is huge if you’re short on fridge space. Plastic wrap works, but we all know it kinda sucks.
Korean Short Ribs (Galbi)
Ingredients
- 3.5 lb short ribs, flanken cut
- 100 g soy sauce
- 10 g salt
- 50 g brown sugar
- 25 g mirin
- 25 g sesame oil
- 150 g asian pear (1 whole), peeled and chopped
- 50 g kiwi (1 whole), peeled and chopped
- 100 g onion, chopped
- 30 g garlic , about 6-8 cloves
- 10 g ginger, chopped
- 3 g ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse each rib under cold water to wash off any bone dust from the saw. Lay them out on paper towels and dry them very well.
- Combine soy sauce, salt, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, pear, kiwi, onion, garlic, ginger, and black pepper in a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Lay all the ribs in 2 layers in a 9×13 baking dish. Pour the blended marinade over them and brush every piece so it's heavily coated on both sides. Cover with a lid (plastic wrap works too) and refrigerate overnight (12-18 hours is ideal).
- Preheat Grill on high to 450-500°F (260°C)
- Spray or wipe the grates liberally with oil, then lay each rib on the grill, letting the excess marinade drip off first. Close the lid and sear 3-4 minutes. Reserve the excess marinade.
- Flip each rib, brush the top sides with marinade, then close the lid again. Reduce grill heat to medium and cook for 1-2 minutes. Open the lid, flip the ribs, brush with more marinade, close the lid and reduce heat to medium. Open, flip, brush, and close a second maneuver 2 more times. Don't brush with marinade on the last flip (you'll likely be out of marinade at this point anyway). The total cook time for ribs should be 10-12 minutes: 5-6 minutes over medium high heat, 5-6 minutes over medium.
- Transfer the ribs to a plate and rest for 5 minutes. They're thin, so they don't need long.
- To serve cut into bite sized pieces with scissors between the bones
Notes
Like this? Leave a comment below!MY GO TO GEAR FOR KOREAN SHORT RIBS
Below are the tools I actually use when making this recipe. Some of these are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them–at no extra cost to you.
High-Powered Blender – You need a real blender here, not a food processor or immersion blender. You want the marinade completely smooth so the enzymes distribute evenly across every piece of meat. The smoother the marinade, the more consistent the tenderization and flavor. My go-to is the expensive, but effective Vitamix.
9×13 Baking Dish with Lid – The long, flat shape is ideal for flanken cut ribs. The ribs fit well in 2 layers (or close to it) and you can really slather each piece. A zip-lock bag technically works, but it folds up the meat which can pop out the bones and make them fall apart.
Kitchen Shears – Get a dedicated pair for cutting the galbi at the table. Korean BBQ scissors (the kind you’d find at an international grocery store) are the real move. They’re long and built for this purpose, but any kitchen shears will do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Broil them on a sheet tray on top of foil and flip 2-3 times. Be careful and watch them like a hawk to prevent burning.
Two likely causes: the grill is too hot, or you’re putting on too much marinade. This is a sweet marinade and the sugar burns at high temps really fast. Let the excess drip off the meat before it hits the grill, keep your flip cycles tight and. If flames are jumping up and directly hitting the meat, slide to a cooler zone or crack the grill lid.
Yes, you can and you should. It works great on chicken thighs, thinly sliced pork shoulder, beef skirt steak, or bulgogi-style thinly sliced ribeye. The enzyme action works on all of them. Keep the same timing guidelines but don’t let any protein sit in this marinade past 24 hours.
Both use a similar Korean BBQ marinade built around soy, sugar, garlic, and sesame, but the cut of beef is the difference. Bulgogi is made with very thin slices of beef, usually ribeye or sirloin. Galbi uses cross-cut short ribs. Galbi has more fat, more chew, and bones to eat around, so it lands richer and a little more primal than bulgogi. Both are great, but they scratch different itches.
Two hours is the absolute minimum if you want the enzymes to make any meaningful difference. Less than that and you’re essentially just surface-flavoring the meat. The galbi is still edible, but it won’t have that characteristic tenderness and depth. If you marinate for 4-6 hours, you’re in decent shape. Overnight is best.
