Galbi-jjim

It is time for a bit of a celebration: I have achieved my eighth AWS certification, this one as a practitioner in AI/ML. The certifications acquired are all related to my actual job, and I am not just randomly getting certifications for the purpose of getting certifications. (There is a “thing” in some circles about how many certifications you have, not my thing precisely, but a thing…)

Although the certification is listed as practitioner / foundational, it is more comprehensive than the prior specialist-level exam. (Madam Badwolf commented about old wolves and new tricks.)

As a reward, Madam Badwolf is allowing me to accompany her to the local not-so-mega-mart and select the meal to cook in celebration. I am going with Galbi-jjim, or Korean braised gochujang short ribs, slow-cooked with apples and veggies in a rich and spicy sauce. As a cooling element, I’ll serve with an apple slaw, and for texture/taste/balance, a helping of kimchi as a side.

I’ll be using my Instapot, so I’ll sear the ribs to render out some fat, and then I’ll fry my onions and apple. (One should use Asian pears here, but it is fall in New York, and I have this orchard not too far away.)

From Wikipedia:

Galbi-jjim or braised short ribs, is a variety of jjim or Korean dish made with galbi, (short rib). Galbijjim is generally made with beef or pork short ribs.

In traditional cuisine, galbijjim was traditionally eaten at Chuseok along with songpyeon, namul, taro soup, chestnut dumplings, chicken jjim and autumn fruit. As galbijjim is usually made from only the center part of ribs from a calf while the rib ends used to make soup stock, galbi was more expensive than other cuts of beef in South Korea, and has been regarded as a high-class dish.

Ribs are cut to size and excess blood should be removed. Knife cuts are made in the meat to the bone, allowing the seasoning to seep in. Excess fat is removed from the ribs, either by cutting or removing after parboiling. Soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, minced garlic, pepper, ground sesame with salt, ginger juice, and sugar are mixed together with the ribs and are simmered in a large pot on a mid-flame. Cooking is done slowly while occasionally stirring. When the meat is almost cooked, additional seasoning is added with jujube, ginkgo nuts, carrots, and pine nuts, and it is brought back to a boil once again. Chestnuts, shiitake, and seogi mushrooms are added near the end of cooking.

Slow Cooker Short Ribs

Meaty, hearty, fall off the bone goodness

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 7 hours hrs

Soak Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian

Servings 4 Servings

Calories 749 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Slow Cooker Insta pot

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 lb Beef Short Ribs
• 1 ea Onion Medium, peeled, chunked to 1"
• 2 ea Carrots Peeled, washed, chunked to 1"
• 1 ea Apple Washed, Chunked to 1"
• 8-10 cloves garlic
• 6-8 slices Ginger 1" Know, peeled, sliced thin
• 6-8 ea Shiitake Mushrooms Rehydrated, sliced
• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce Low Sodium
• 2-3 tbsp Gochujang Paste Decent Stuff, not supermarket house brand
• 1/4 cup Rice Wine Or Dry White
• 4 tbsp Honey Real Stuff
• 2 tbsp Sesame Oil Toasted
• 4 ea Scallions Washed, Rough chop
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Trim off any excess fat from the ribs.
• Rinse the ribs and let them sit in cold water for about and hour to draw out excess blood.
• Drain well or pat dry with paper towels.
• Prepare the vegetables and apple by cutting them into large chunks (about 1-inch pieces).
• Place the ribs and vegetables and apple in the slow cooker
• Mix together the gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine, honey, salt and pepper, and pour over the ribs.
• Toss everything to coat with the sauce.
• Cover, and cook for 6 to 7 hours on high or 9 to 10 hours on low.
• Flip the ribs over midway through the process.
• Adjust the cooking time depending on how tender you want your ribs to be.
• Stir in the scallions and sesame oil.
• Remove the ribs and vegetables from the slow cooker.
• Pour the sauce over the ribs to serve.
• Serve over carb of choice, rice, potato, polenta, noodles.

Notes

An easy and festive meal for a special celebration or just because.

This method will work for other cuts of beef (chuck roast, brisket, flank steak, etc.), pork ribs or roast, and chicken. 

A generous amount of sauce/gravy is generated, so be liberal.

Using a multi-cooker, one can sear the ribs before the braise, and fry off the onions in the resulting fat, but this is optional.

I love this dish with a vinegar-based hot sauce.

Gochujang already has a heavy salt content, so I’ve used low-salt soy sauce to keep the sodium level down and the flavor balanced.

Ribs come in all sizes. Most recipes allow for one rib per person, and each rib weighing about 200g or just under half a pound.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 749kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 67gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 195mgSodium: 1838mgPotassium: 1304mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 94IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 8mg

Keyword Braised, Korean, Short Ribs, Slow Cooker

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