Kalbi (KAHL-bee): A traditional Korean BBQ meat dish, kalbi is marinated short ribs (either on the bone or cut into pieces) cooked on a grill.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 Korean pear or Asian pear, grated with juices
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 small white onion, grated or sliced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon ground red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 (20-ounce) bottle lemon-lime soda, optional (recommended: Sprite or 7-Up)
- 4 pounds short ribs
- Cooked white rice
- Prepared kimchee (available at Korean grocers)
Instructions
- For the marinade: Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a large baking dish. Add the ribs and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight; it is best if marinated overnight.
- For serving: Heat grill to high. Remove short ribs from marinade and grill short ribs until slightly charred and tender and cooked to desired degree of doneness. Serve short ribs with white rice and kimchee.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1329 |
| Total Fat | 116 g |
| Saturated Fat | 49 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 18 g |
| Protein | 46 g |
| Cholesterol | 230 mg |
| Sodium | 1327 mg |
Reviews
Delicious. I made a somewhat simplified version that didn’t include the red/black pepper, green onions, honey (substituted extra brown sugar, or lemon-lime soda. The spice from the pepper was missed, but the soda was not. Without the soda, we were left with a really thick, delicious, and flavorful marinade that served really well as a dipping sauce for the meat, rice and and vegetables we cooked.
My recommendation would be to separate the sauce before adding the soda, leaving half for marinade and basting and the other half for dipping.
Really delicious, don’t forget to toast the sesame seeds and sesame oil, makes a world of difference!
Really enjoyed this. I used ginger ale instead of lemon lime soda as that is what I had on hand. Marinated for about 8 hrs. Next time will marinade over night. Still had good flavor but I can imagine it is even better with more time.
One of the most authentic recipes I’ve come across for Kalbi, although ginger is generally not added the recipe for Kalbi. I found it overpowered the flavor. However, the pear and 7-up worked well to tenderize and add the nice sweetness to the dish.
wonderful!! Also tried pork chops, also very good. BEST IF MARINATED OVERNIGHT.
If you don’t have an Asian grocery store nearby, the cut ribs that Koreans use for LA kalbi can be found at huge wholesale chains such as Costco and Sams.
Very easy and delicious! I would happily make this again.
WOW! This is fantastic! Make sure to use the pear (even canned or applesauce and the 7-Up. Best if you marinate over night. I have used this with steak and skirt steak.
I made these adn served them with sticky rice in lettuce leaves. A new foavirte in our house. I made a few modifications, but followed the basics. See my photos here. http://ladyberds-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/04/korean-bbq-marinated-short-ribs-in.html
This is a great “base” recipe for kalbi. I have my own recipe for the marinade, but wanted to try something new. So, I gave this one a shot after seeing Jen Lee on Bobby Flay’s show. It was pretty good and I don’t have any complaints about it. It just wasn’t as good as the recipe I already had. I ended up taking aspects of the recipe to add to my own though – it made my recipe even better. Specifically, I love that she uses a Korean pear to help sweeten the marinade (my recipe was all sugar and the pear allowed me to cut much of it). When making kalbi, definitely try to marinate overnight (turn it once in a while) and BBQ it.
I’ve tried many many many different Kalbi recipes from all over the place, this one worked out the best. I only used half of everything in the recipe for 1.5lbs of short ribs, I mixed everything together and tasted a little before I added the ribs.
I added a little more soy sauce, added couple pinches of salt and a little more brown sugar after taste test. Marinated overnight, grilled it in the house with a grill pan. They turned out great. I don’t think I’ll ever go out for Kalbi again 🙂