Korean grilled beef short ribs

The beef is crusty, succulent, sweet with sugar, nutty with sesame, salty with soy sauce.

Korean grilled beef short ribs. Credit: Project Fire

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg (3 lbs) meaty beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths

Marinade

• 1 kiwi fruit, peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 tsp peeled, minced fresh ginger
• 2 scallions (green onions), trimmed, white parts minced, green parts thinly sliced on the diagonal for serving
• ⅓ cup brown sugar (white sugar or honey are OK, too)
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup rice wine or sake
• ⅓ cup dark sesame oil, plus 1½ tbsp for basting
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp gochujang (optional)

 

Grilling and serving

• 1½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for serving
• 8 cloves garlic, skewered on toothpicks
• 1 bunch scallions (green onions), trimmed
• 1-2 onions, cut into thick slices
• 1 cup kimchi, thinly sliced
• 1 head butter lettuce, separated into leaves and washed (or alternatively, serve with cooked rice)

Marinading time: 4 hours.

Instructions

1. Butterfly and score the short ribs and arrange in a single layer in a nonreactive baking dish.
2. Make the marinade: Place the ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour the marinade over the ribs, turning to coat both sides. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
3. Set up your grill or hibachi for direct grilling and preheat to high. Brush and oil the grill grate.
4. Brush the vegetables with sesame oil, and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Then grill the garlic, onion and scallions, turning (roughly 3-5 minutes per side). Arrange the beef ribs (the meat spread out) on the grate and grill until sizzling and browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Sprinkle the beef with the sesame seeds.
5. To serve, cut the grilled meat into bite-size pieces with scissors. Cut the garlic cloves in half and cut the scallion into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces. Place pieces of beef, grilled garlic, onion, scallion and kimchi on a lettuce leaf. Roll it up and pop it into your mouth. Alternatively, serve the beef, vegetables and kim chi with cooked rice.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.