NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbooks, The Ancestral Table and Paleo Takeout.
Kalbi (also known as Galbi) is one of my favorite meat dishes to grill at home. Unfortunately, all of the commercially-available marinades contain all sorts of nefarious ingredients, so I decided to try making the sauce from scratch. Luckily, it turned out to be really easy and tasted great.
This recipe calls for one Asian pear, but a regular golden pear, or even unsweetened applesauce, will do in a pinch.
You’ll Need:
3 lbs beef short ribs (flanken/LA cut – cross-cut at each bone)
1 asian pear or golden/bosc pear, grated (or 1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce)
1/2 cup tamari or coconut aminos
1 cup club soda / soda water
juice of one lime (1/4 cup)
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grated or ground ginger
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1. Combine all of the ingredients and marinate them overnight in a re-sealable plastic bag.
2. Grill the kalbi on med/high heat until browned on each side, and cooked to medium doneness (they will continue to cook once taken off the grill). Since they are relatively thin, it should only take a few minutes on each side.
3. Serve immediately, with your choice of side dishes (Banchan); the ones pictured above are taken from my second cookbook, Paleo Takeout.
The Domestic Man 
WOW!!! I can not tell you how I longed for a good recipe that mimicked my mom’s marinade loaded with soy, wheat and sugar. I can not even wait to try it!! Thank You so much!
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Thank you SO much! I am SO excited to have kalbi again! (And I’m pretty stoked about trying your bbq sauce, too!)
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I’ve been craving galbi ever since I went to this Korean BBQ place with my Korean friends. Thanks so much this looks wonderful. I don’t have a grill at my place. I wonder if I can cook this in the oven?
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Haley, if you don’t have a grill, you could always broil them in the oven. Let me know how they turn out!
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Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks you actually understand what you are talking approximately!
Bookmarked. Kindly also consult with my site =). We can have a hyperlink alternate contract between us
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An old, old recipe, I know, but just in case you have time to answer a question…
I’d love to try this as written, some time, but short ribs are usually expensive here. I know it would be a different thing, but is there any reason I couldn’t use this marinade on regular old spare ribs? Or would it pre-digest the meat too much?
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