Galbi-jjim (braised beef short ribs) is one of the most popular Korean dishes. It’s made with beef short ribs and is often prepared for special occasions.
Traditionally it’s a dish for special occasions such as Korean festival days like Chuseok, New Year’s Day (Seollal), or family’s birthdays, but you can make it for any occasion or as a weekend dish. It’s kind of a challenging recipe but the result is amazing: the meat is almost falling off the rib bones and is tender, sweet, savory, and irresistible.
This is a recipe from my new cookbook, Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking, and it’s the first recipe I am posting in 2020, a remake of a recipe and video from 2008! This one is even more traditional than the one I posted 12 years ago, and includes ginkgo nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts and jujubes.
Choose good quality short ribs for this recipe, with lots of meat attached to the ribs. Remove the blood, excess fat, and impurities by soaking and blanching the ribs. If you skip this process, the final dish may smell off. Peak season for chestnuts is late fall, so if you use fresh chestnuts, that’s the best time. Fresh frozen skinned chestnuts are available all year round though, and available in the frozen section of Korean grocery stores. They also sell frozen ginkgo nuts, if you can’t find fresh ones.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and make it for your friends and family! If any special guests coming over this will be a colorful center piece on the table. It’s January 5, 2020! I hope you are having a happy new year so far, and a prosperous and healthy new decade, too!
Ingredients
Serves 4
For the seasoning sauce and vegetables:
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, washed and soaked in 2½ cups cold water for 3 to 4 hours, until soft
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup mirim (aka mirin), or water
- ¼ cup sugar (white or brown, or swerve)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced peeled ginger
- 1 medium size Korean radish (8 ounces to 12 ounces) or daikon, peeled
- 2 large, thick carrots, peeled
For the beef short ribs:
- 2 pounds beef short ribs (8 pieces), rinsed and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes to 1 hour, changing water a couple of times
- 12 peeled frozen chestnuts or fresh chestnuts (see how to skin fresh chestnuts below; frozen are sold pre-skinned)
- 2 tablespoons rice syrup
- 8 large dried jujubes, pitted
For garnish:
- 12 pine nuts, tips removed (optional)
- 12 frozen ginkgo nuts, shelled and cooked (optional); see how to shell and cook ginkgo nuts below
Directions
How to skin fresh chestnuts:
- Lay the chestnut on the flat side and slice off the flat end, then slice off the pointed end.
- Using a paring knife, slice down both of the narrower sides, removing the dark skin inside the shell.
- Peel off the remaining shell with your fingers. Trim away the dark skin on the outside of the chestnut so that it is a uniform creamy color.
How to cook ginkgo nuts:
- Heat about 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add some shelled ginkgo nuts.
- Add some salt and stir-fry until the skins loosen and the color of the nuts changes to golden or bright green.
- Transfer to paper towels, fold the paper towels over the nuts, and gently massage the nuts to remove more skin.
Make the seasoning sauce and vegetables:
- After soaking the mushrooms, place a strainer over a bowl and drain.
- Measure out 2 cups of the soaking water. If it can’t make 2 cups, fill it with cold water. Transfer to a medium bowl; discard the remainder if you have.
- Add the soy sauce, mirim, sugar (or swerve), ground black pepper, garlic, and ginger and mix well with a spoon. Set the seasoning sauce aside.
- Remove the stem from each mushroom and reserve for future use, like stir-fried rice. Cut each mushroom cap into quarters and transfer to a plate.
- Cut the radish into 1½-inch cubes and round the edges of each cube with a paring knife to make approximately 1-inch balls. Make 10 to 12 balls. Add to the plate with the mushrooms.
- Cut the carrots into 1½-inch cubes and round the edges of each cube with a paring knife to make approximately 1-inch balls. Make 10 to 12 balls. Add to the mushrooms and radish balls.
Cook the beef short ribs:
- Fill a large, heavy pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Drain the ribs, rinse again, and add to the boiling water.
- Blanch for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Wash the pot with soapy water nicely.
- Put the ribs back to the pot and add the seasoning sauce. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the mushrooms, chestnuts, radishes, and carrots. Cover, turn down the heat to low, and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the jujubes and rice syrup.
- Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the meat is just about falling off the bone. Thicker short ribs will take longer. To check, poke the meat with a wooden skewer. If the meat is tender enough to serve, the skewer should go through easily. If it does not, add some water (about 1 cup) and cook a little longer, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the short ribs.
- Increase the heat to high and spoon any remaining broth from the bottom of the pot over the meat and vegetables for a few minutes, until most of the sauce has reduced and the meat and vegetables are nicely glazed.
Serve:
- Transfer to a large platter, sprinkle with the pine nuts (if using) and ginkgo nuts (if using), and serve with rice and more side dishes.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon for that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
hi, dear maangchi,
today i tried this recipe, my husband and my son really love it! thank u so so much!! i am ur fans! i always watch u cooking on tube, u doing the things so quickly.i live in vancouver of canada, next time come to visit!
helen
Great! Nice meeting you, Helen! I’m so happy to hear that your family love your homemade galbijjim!
Hi Maangchi,
Thanks for your great recipes! I’ll make galbijjim for some frieds. For how many person is this recipe?
Thanks!
This recipe is for 2 servings. If you have a party, you can spread it out over more people and serve with more side dishes.
Thanks! What side dishes do you recommend, beside the spinach side dish and the soy bean paste soup?
is corn syrup really needed for this recipe?
Corn syrup or rice syrup makes galbijjim more shiny and appetizing. If it’s not available, skip it and use sugar or honey.
Hi Maangchi,
Can I just double all the ingredients if I am making 4lbs of spare ribs?
Thanks for the delicious recipes! My mom is a great korean chef, but she never measures anything… so this website is so helpful for beginners, like me!
yes, double all the ingredients if you make 4 pounds. I had never measured either before I started posting my recipes on YouTube : )
The first time I tied this recipe, I just substituted the same amount of Honey for the Mulyeot, with delicious results!! I am actually making it again tonight, and I am using Rice syrup!
Maangchi , can i use pork ribs instead of beef ? or it has to be beef ??
yes, you can use pork ribs, too.
I used pork ribs today when i cooked galbijim , except the butcher cannot cut it in half for me .. so my pork ribs are pretty big LOL . My husband said ” Excellent taste ”
Thank you maangchi !
Hi Maangchi…
I’m going to teach my friend’s hubby how to cook this one but I want to cook one more dish..What can I cook? What’s the best partner of galbijim?
How about making sigeumchi namul (spinach side dish) or cabbage and soy bean paste soup (baechu doenjang guk).
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/sigumchi-namul
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/baechu-doenjang-guk
Serve with rice. Good luck with your cooking class and let us know how it goes!
i just want to say i am soo glad that i found your site because everytime i tried looking for recipe for korean food it would direct e to a american site with amercanize korean cooking, i did not like it but your recipe is actually a korean recipe
thanks maanchi
p.s how often do u add new recipe
I usually post a new recipe every other week. Welcome!
정말 도움 많이 얻고 있습니다 thank you
wonderful!
Hi Maagchi,
I have tried making so many dishes from your website since were in the Philippies and they all turned out good. Now were in Korea, it was a great help since we’re living with my parents-in-law. Well, im just a beginner in cooking, but with your website’s help… my family and friends say i’m a good cook (hihi..) Your english recipes are lot of help especially for foreign nationals. Searching for ingredients is also an adventure. Looking forward to more dishes… Thanks much!
“my family and friends say i’m a good cook” yay! I’m glad to hear that!
can I use potato instead of the radish?
Yes, you can, but radish tastes better.
do i have to be 21 to purchase the cooking wine? cause i wanna try it but idk if i could purchase it.
Annyong Haseyo!
I love your recipies & easy to folow videos! Its really helped me improve my cooking skills & expand my personal menu! haha…
For this recipie, can we use pork ribs instead?
Yes, I think you could replace beef ribs with pork ribs in the recipe.
Hi Maangchi
I have been using your site for a year or more now. My wife is Korean Australian and we have come back to Korea for 6 months to get married and so I can build a relationship with her parents. You have helped me out heaps as I have regularly cooked for my wifes parents when they come to visit. I am nowhere near as good as my Mother-in-Law, who is an amazing cook, but it still makes me happy that the parents enjoy my food, (heh heh… your food!!) Although, my Father-in Law thinks it is terrible that I cook and not my wife. He’s always giving her a hard time. Cooking in Australia is a passion for me, so it has been great to come here and learn all these new Korean dishes, with a lot of help from you of course.
Anyway – my question to you. The one dish I haven’t done yet is Gamjatang. How do I ask for the Pork Spine in Korean so I can get it from the local butchers?
Once again – thank you
Sorry Maangchi, wrong question, I mean how do I ask for Beef Short Ribs in Korean because I haven’t done Galbijjim yet!! Oh confusing! And can I use Doegi Galbi for Galbijjim and how do I ask for that?
Thank you!!
“Although, my Father-in Law thinks it is terrible that I cook and not my wife. He’s always giving her a hard time..” lol, you have lovely father-in-law! He loves you! But cooking is not always for women. : )
Here are some words in Korean that you asked.
pork neck bones: doeji mok ppyeo
Pork spine: doeji deung ppyeo
pork ribs: doeji galbi
This is my first time on your website and all the recipes look so good!!!! I cant wait to make this for my BF :)
Welcome to my website! Happy cooking!
I was starving so I tried this recipe using the boneless beef short ribs I had in the refrigerator. I followed your recipe except I cut the boneless beef into slices across the grain and skipped the pre-boiling. Delicious. I’ll have to go out and buy me some bone-in short ribs too!
Dear Maangchi,
In the Philippines we usually have Galbi jim in a “saucier” or “brothier” version. What do we have to do to achieve this?
Can I use boneless short ribs?
yes, boneless sounds good! cheers!
Thanks for having a wonderful website of delicious recipes. I’ve tried several galbi recipes and yours was easy and great tasting. I’ve taken several Korean cooking classes in Korea with foreigners and it was so much fun that I’m longing to have one. Most of my foreign friends are back home so I’ll try to connect online w/your website. I’m so glad it’s in English, too… Great job, I’ll spread the news..
oh, you are living in Korea now. Awesome! Thank you for your interest in my recipes!
Oh wow, your site is so great! I can’t wait to try this recipe out. Thanks!
Hello,
Could I make this with only potatoes and carrots or with no veggies? I love veggies, but my boyfriend does not. I want him to try something new. lol I thought this would be a good dish to try.
와. 한국에 소개되서 방문하는 사람이 많겠어요. 정말 좋네요.
올해 구정때는 갈비찜 해봐야겠어요!
행복하게 사세요! 우리 엄마 같아요^^
hi, owl! : )
I’m glad to hear that you said, “you are like my mom!”
Thank you so much for your website! I have been going crazy with cooking Korean all last week and this week. I made galbijjim tonight and it was amazing! I’ll have to send you pics of all that I made so far.
Not sure if anyone brought this up, but I found that using a microplane grater to be really convenient for shaping the carrots and radish into little spheres. (And you can use the radish gratings to put into memilgooksu! Kinda out of season but still delicious!)
“have been going crazy with cooking Korean all last week and this week…” lol
microplane grater? I have never heard about it. If you want, please leave the info about it here https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
maangchi!!! i love your website so much!!!!
Hey Maangchi,
If I use beef stew meat instead what should I reduce the cooking time to so that it isn’t hard and overcooked?
maybe! I’m not sure. Boil the beef until it gets soft.
i looked at the galbijjim picture and just had to ask my mom if i could make this when i go home this week. can’t wait! i’ve been telling her to experiment more with other dishes instead of making the same food for last several years. =P
i can’t wait until next year when i move into a kitchen dormitory to make hankukeumshik for dinner. :D
kitchen dormitory! Eat well and study hard! ; )
Can you cook the galbijjim in the crockpot?
yes, you can.
Maangchi,few weeks ago i tried Korean curry in a restaurant,i was very delicious.Please,when you get the chance ,show how to make it
Thank you
ok, Korean style curry rice recipe will be posted someday in the future. Thank you!
Maangchi,im cooking beef short ribs now
cant wait to taste it)
Is it too late to say, “My fingers are crossed!”?
OMG ,Maangchi it was realy tasty!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipes with us!!!
I just joined your helpful site. I made the japchae yesterday and my friends loved it. I can’t wait to cook this short ribs tomorrow! thx!!
Wow you already made japchae and it turned out great! I’m sure your galbijjim will be delicious, too! Let me know how it goes.
i really want to try this recipe but only have boneless short ribs in my fridge. can this recipe be used for boneless short ribs? and would the recipe need to be adapted in any way? thanks!
Yes, boneless short ribs will be good, too. Maybe cooking time can be reduced.
Thank you for your helpful videos! I have had great success with your recipes.
Wonderful! Good luck with your Korean cooking!
hi, Maangchi
I am Armenian (not sure if you heard ) – Armenia is one of former Soviet republics.
I am addicted to Korean B-B-Q and make them at home. I even bought stove top grill. I found your recipes very useful. I love cooking & experimenting in the kitchen.
About this recipe – can we use canned water chestnuts and if answer is yes at what stage we can add them to the meat – since chestnuts alrady cooked .
thank you. Marine
여기도 2주뒤면 추석이예요
갈비찜 맛나보여요..
한복을 결혼식 이후론 안입었는데..
갈비찜 시식에서 한복을 보니 새삼 이쁘네요..
즐거운 하루 보내세요..
제가 영어를 잘못해서.. 한글로 인사남겨요..
I’m translating what you are saying for my other readers because I think your comment will make other people feel good!
“2 weeks later, we will have Chuseok holiday here
The galbijjim looks delicious…
I have never worn my hanbok (korean traditional costume) since my wedding day…
Your hanbok looks pretty when you eat the galbijjim..
Have a nice day..
As my English is poor…I am leaving my comment in Korean”
Thank you very much! Happy Chuseok!
Hi Ms. Maangchi (I don’t know your real name and I am not good in typing Korean).
I became your fan; you are such a good cook and explained in detail (very easy to follow) and your ingredients are easy to find. Also your cooking is fun to watch as well.
I like to try everything you showed on internet.
I always worried when it’s time to cook meals, but now no more worries, because I can depend on you.
Thank you very much.
Jeannie
i tried this last night and it came out very well.
i love your website!!
An yong ha se yo maangchi!
I love your recipes.
By the way, I was finding for a korean dish for years and I still haven’t got a clue. I’ve eaten a korean dish in korea few years ago, and they used pork and cabbage. It’s sort of like a korean bbq, but it’s not spicy. The waitress kept adding cabbages when i was eating. And it tasted awesome.
Do you happen to know what dish is that?
Thank you!!!
Hi Julia,
I’m just another reader, but what you had sounds like sam gyup sar. It’s pork belly meat that’s usually grilled unmarinated (although various marinated versions are also available). It is accompanied by a dipping sauce composed of sesame oil, salt, and black pepper. They usually throw kimchi on the grill along with the pork belly and eat it together. Does this sound about right? Hope this is helpful.