Kalbi

So effing delicious



Pre-Marinade ingredients:
2-3 lbs kalbi cut short ribs - short rib cut across the "grain" of the rib bone
1 large onion
1 large asian pear or 2 small bartlett pears or 2 gala apples
8-10 cloves garlic
1 can Pepsi or 7up (technically can sub 3-4tbsp honey)

Overnight Marinade:
5-6 Tbsp Soy sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp honey
4-5 Tbsp Shao Xing (chinese rice wine)
1-2 Tbsp sesame oil
3-4 stalks green onion, thin sliced
2-5 clove garlic, sliced
1 knob ginger, minced
2 Tbsp sambal (or sub red pepper flakes)
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (toasted)

To start:
add a few Tbsps of salt to an extra large bowl or a casserole dish and add some water, stir, then add the short ribs. Add water to mostly cover meat, and stir with hand> Let sit for 1/2 hour, then drain, rinse and drain.

Prepare pre-marinade:
Rough dice onion, pear or apple, garlic -- add to blender to puree the ingredients and pour over the meat. Add can of Pepsi/7up. Mix with hands, thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Prepare overnight marinade:
Take a large gallon ziploc bag and add all ingredients listed above. Close and shake to mix.

Remove meat from fridge and drain liquid. Remove some of the pulp, leaving plenty coating the meat, and pour contents into the ziploc bag with all the overnight marinade in it. Zip shut. I usually rinse the bowl/casserole and throw the ziploc bag into that dish before placing back into fridge overnight/ 24 hours.

Then comes the grilling!

Above: ribs are soaking in lightly salted water while I prepare Pre-marinade

Above: after adding pureed onion, pear, garlic and can of soda, cover and place in fridge. The acid of the soda will tendorize the meat while the onion and garlic seep in to provide umami while the fruit balances it.

Above: After filling a large ziploc bag with Overnight Marinade, add drained meat to bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight, 24 hours.

Grilling is the easy part.

Get the grill as hot as possible. Greater than 450 degrees. The key is for the fire to sizzle up to create a nice crispiness of the marinade on the outside of the meat. Make it gristle. 2 minutes per side if really hot, 4 minutes a side if your gas grill isn't that powerful. Charcoal is best with the coals piled up to an inch or two under the grate.


Indoor cooking.

This is a bit tougher to try and get a nice crispiness/gristle. It is also very slow as I can only do a batch of 3 pieces at a time.

Heat a cast iron skillet on high heat. Turn Broiler onto High and place rack 4-5 inches from heat source. 2 inches is fine too, but you've got to really keep an eye on it.

Add slices of meat to cast iron skillet, wait about 30 seconds, then move skillet to broiler (use a pot handler!).

Keep door ajar and you'll see that the gristle will develop after about 3-4 minutes, turn meat and allow other side of meat to gristle- sometimes I drain the skillet after flipping.

Repeat for remaining meat, keeping other pieces covered.


Serve with freshly made white rice and crisp romaine lettuce leafs. Place some rice into the lettuce leaf, rip pieces of meat off bone and place into meat with rice. Add some chili oil if you have some, and enjoy.