Galbi, An Ode to Carnivores (Korean BBQ)
SKIP THIS POST if your main protein source is soy-based or legumes but if Nirvana is synonymous with BBQ or if the image dancing in your head right now is a big fat juicy drippy burger, read on.
I grew up eating Chinese food. My Dad was the chef in our house. My parents owned a real estate and insurance business in the heart of Chinatown right on Grant Ave. Every evening my Dad would head out of the office 30 minutes early and shop for dinner ingredients. He surveyed the catch of the day, rock cod, flounder, or striped bass swimming in tanks. Picked through crates of crisp green beans and fished out squares of freshly made tofu from tubs. Done with his shopping and catching the “news on the streets” from the vendors, he would swing back to the office, pick up my Mom, and head home. After a flurry of slicing, chopping, steaming, and stir-frying, dinner would be on the table in less than an hour.
Dad’s Cooking
I took this for granted while growing up but once I started cooking for my own family I realized what a mind-boggling feat it was. My dad started each meal with a quick soup and stir-fried spinach or broccoli for the veggie dish. He steamed minced pork seasoned with garlic and black beans or fish, and stir-fried beef with pickled vegetables to round out the meal.
These days our meals are a mash-up of American cooking and our cultural roots. We marinade steaks in Hoi Sin, a Chinese sweet, salty paste or poach chicken and serve it with soy sauce infused with ginger, garlic, and onions. Barbecue beef ribs cut crosswise, flanken-style or marinade ribs for a delicious Korean-style bbq.
One of our favorites is Galbi or flanken-style beef ribs marinated in a sauce made of soy, sugar, garlic, and onions. Ono-licious! Looking for something new for your next barbecue, this is it.
Galbi
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs. short ribs cut flanken style
Mariande
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1/4 cup sugar subsitute brown sugar or raw sugar
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced, preferably finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 stalks green onions chopped
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds toasted
- 1/8 cup mirin or sake
- 1/4 Asian pear grated finely, optional or 1/8 cup pineapple juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Pour over ribs and marinate overnight or a minimum of 3 hours. Can substitute flank steak or tri-tip cut into strips. But really, try short ribs-so good.
- Preheat grill, for a gas grill, turn off middle section right before placing ribs on bbq, move charcoal to the sides for conventional bbq.
- Grill approximately 4 minutes per side. Garnish with slivers of green onions and sesame seeds. Ribs should be grilled medium, not rare.