Recipe: Make Beef Short Ribs, “The King of All Korean Barbeque”

Korean barbeque is the ultimate group feast. You’ve gotta embrace the chaotic fun around the crowded table – the debate over ordering kimchi pancakes or corn cheese (get both), and the anticipation as the grill starts to sizzle. With this recipe from Cook Korea author Billy Law, you can bring that energy to your home dinners.

The centrepiece is galbi (barbequed beef short ribs), which Law calls “the king of all Korean barbeque”. 

What makes this dish stand out is the cutting technique. “The ingenious way of filleting the meat from the rib in a long thin strip – but leaving it still attached to the bone – means the beef cooks very quickly and stays juicy,” Law writes. “It takes some practice to fillet the rib, but this is an impressive art worth mastering, so take your time and treat it with care.”

For the perfect bite, follow Law’s lead: wrap the charred beef in a crisp cos lettuce leaf with plenty of toppings for a crunchy hit and easy hands-on eating.

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Barbequed beef short ribs (galbi) by Billy Law

Serves 4–6

Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus 2 hours to marinate
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Beef short ribs marinade

½ onion, peeled
1 nashi or Asian pear, peeled and cored
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 tbsp caster sugar
60ml soy sauce
60ml mirin
2 tbsp sesame oil
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To serve

1kg beef short ribs
Soy and wasabi dipping sauce, to serve

Method

Trim any fat and silver skin from the ribs, then cut the beef between the ribs into individual pieces. Place a rib, bone side down, on a chopping board. Starting from one side of the rib, carefully tease the meat away from the bone with a very sharp knife without separating it completely. Leave one end of the meat still attached to the bone like a hinge. Open out the meat from the rib (like opening a book), and butterfly the meat part into a long, flat strip, about 5mm thick. Repeat with the remaining rib pieces then place them in a large bowl.

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a puree. Pour the marinade over the ribs and mix well using your hands.

Take a rib bone, roll the meat back around the bone into a scroll, then place it back in the bowl. Repeat with the remaining ribs, so they are sitting neat and tidy in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to marinate for 2 hours, or preferably overnight.

Take the ribs out of the fridge at least 1 hour prior to cooking to allow them to come to room temperature. Set up a Korean barbeque grill plate on a portable gas stove in the centre of the dining table, or set a chargrill pan over high heat. Place the rib pieces on the grill, unrolling them into long strips so they cook evenly. Grill the meat, turning occasionally, for 2–3 minutes, until slightly charred and caramelised on each side.

Cut the meat into bite-sized chunks with a pair of kitchen scissors. Serve immediately with the soy and wasabi dipping sauce.

Note

If you prefer, you can also wrap the meat in a cos lettuce leaf with a little sliced raw garlic and a drizzle of spicy dipping sauce, which is similar to braised pork belly wraps.

This is an edited extract of Cook Korea by Billy Law, published by Smith Street Books in 2025. Photography by Daniel Herrmann-Zoll.