Grilled beef short ribs (Galbi: 갈비)

Directions

Combine marinade ingredients: sugar, kosher salt, and ground black pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Rinse the ribs in cold water to remove any blood and remaining bone fragments. Drain and pat dry with paper towel.

Place a rib bone-down on the cutting board, with the thick layer of meat facing up.

Cut into the rib just above the bone.

Don’t cut all the way through, leave a kind of hinge on the side so you can flop the large piece of meat over and it’s still attached to the bone.

Flatten it out, flip it over, and then cut into the big chunk of meat about a quarter inch from the cutting board. Cut the same way, leaving a hinge on the side, and then flop the meat over.

Keep flipping, cutting, and flopping until you make a long flat strip of meat about a quarter inch thick. It should still be attached to the bone.

Lightly score both sides of the meat and the sides and edges of the bone.

Do this for all the galbi and lay them on your cutting board with any other vegetables you’re going to grill.

Drizzle sesame oil on the meat, including the bones, and any vegetables you’re going to grill. Rub and slap in with your hand to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the marinade powder evenly all over the meat and the bones.

Add the garlic and green onion to the meat and pat down.

Grab a bone attached to the meat and roll the meat in gently.

Place the rolled beef short ribs on a platter or tray. Repeat it with the rest of the marinated beef short ribs.

Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour up to 12 hours.

Heat up a grill over high heat and the ribs. Unroll them onto the hot grill so they lay flat.

Flip the ribs over a few times until both sides are golden brown. The meat is very thin so it shouldn’t take long. Be sure not to burn them!

Serve with lettuce, perilla leaves, vegetables and ssamjang (dipping sauce). Koreans always serve with rice and a few more banchan (side dishes) too, like kimchi, sigeumchi-namul and kongnamul-muchim, to round out the a meal.

Eat ssam-style, by wrapping a piece of meat in the lettuce with a piece of raw or grilled garlic, ssamjang, and whatever else you have and then popping the whole piece into your mouth at once. You can add rice, too.

Sitting around the grill, everyone wraps their own morsels, one at a time. Have fun!