Thinly sliced beef short ribs, marinated in a spicy, sweet, sour, sauce with kiwi, gochujang, ginger, garlic, and more! These Korean BBQ beef short ribs with kiwi marinade (galbi) are seriously delicious. Picture tender, succulent meat, infused with tonnes of flavour, grilled over charcoal until crispy. Try this for your next barbeque – trust me, it’ll be a hit!!!

Galbi translates to ‘ribs’ in Korean, and is easily the most popular dish at Korean BBQ! Typically, you'd use beef short ribs for galbi, cut flanken-style (sometimes called LA galbi)!

Beef short ribs are a tough cut of meat – often used in slow-cooking in Western dishes. But slice them very thinly, and use an incredibly tenderising marinade, and you can grill them quickly on the BBQ! Not only are they tender and succulent, but with the marinade in this recipe, they taste phenomenal.

Ingredients for these Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Beef Short Ribs

You will of course need beef short ribs for this recipe! I think the fattier and more marbled, the better. You get maximum flavour this way, and more succulent beef. In Korean BBQ restaurants, the short ribs are cut flanken-style (LA galbi). The meat is a flat, long, strip, cut across the rib. You'll hear of English-style ribs too, which is just the longer piece of short rib that's perfect for slow-cooking.

For this recipe, you can either head to a Korean or Asian butcher and buy some pre-cut galbi. Or, buy these smaller-sized English-style beef short ribs and butterfly them yourself, like I do! You can always ask your butcher, as well. Other cuts that would work well are flank steak, oyster blade (AKA flat iron), or skirt steak! But the connective tissue within beef short ribs is full of collagen - excellent for joint and skin health!

The Kiwi Marinade

Kiwi

The kiwi marinade for these Korean BBQ short ribs has so much flavour. It would honestly taste amazing with any meat! Kiwi is an powerful tenderiser because of how acidic it is. A traditional Korean marinade may also use Nashi pears (or sometimes apples). But I love the sweet, tangy flavour you get from the kiwi. Use green kiwis for this recipe, not the sweet golden kiwis.

Gochujang

You’ll also need gochujang for the marinade. If you’ve never heard of gochujang, then welcome to one of the most incredibly flavourful condiments ever!!! Gochujang is a Korean chilli paste. It's made with fermented chilli flakes or powder (gochugaru), and typically fermented soybeans, and fermented rice. However, ingredients can vary between brands. I sometimes buy this one from Coles, and as you can see it’s soy-free, although it does have wheat. This one from Woolies does contain soy though, but is wheat-free. Read the label if you have allergies! Gochujang has the most complex flavour – spicy, salty, sweet, sour. All flavours that work perfectly with these Korean BBQ beef ribs!

Garlic, Ginger, and More Aromatics!

If that wasn’t enough flavour for you, you’ll also need garlic, ginger, shallots, rice wine vinegar, honey, sesame oil, spring onion, sesame seeds, and coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are a slightly sweeter, less salty alternative to soy sauce. It’s made from coconut tree sap and salt. This is what gives a lot of that savoury, umami flavour to the beef ribs, along with the gochujang. I love using coconut aminos because of the sweeter flavour. But if you have a soy allergy then they are the perfect soy alternative for you! Depending on the brand of coconut aminos, I sometimes add a teaspoon or two of soy sauce if I want the marinade a bit saltier. Or, add some salt if avoiding soy.

How to Make Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Prepare the Beef Short Ribs

If you're not buying pre-butterflied short ribs, then you'll need to do this yourself. It's not overly difficult, and if it's not perfect, it's totally fine! You want to cut your beef short ribs along the bone length, until you almost cut through the meat. Then, turn your knife sideways and 'unroll' or butterfly the meat – you want the meat to be quite thin. Keep doing this until you have one long piece of meat that you can roll back up again! We’re basically making a meat roll-up (my Australian friends will know what I’m referring to)! The idea is to create one continuous, thin strip of meat with bone on the end.

Make the Kiwi Marinade and Rub Onto the Short Ribs

Then, place all your marinade ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Place your beef short ribs in, and rub the marinade all over the meat. Cover, and let it sit in the fridge for up to 3 hours – no more than this. The meat is cut very thin, and kiwi is a very powerful tenderiser. So, you risk the meat becoming mushy if you leave it longer than this. I’d say 1 hour is minimum, 2 hours is perfect, and 3 hours is the maximum amount of time you should leave it!

BBQ Those Ribs!

Then, prepare your charcoal barbeque and let it reach a high heat. Grill your short ribs for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how thick you’ve cut your meat. Pour on some extra marinade too! It’ll be crispy, golden, and covered in a delicious marinade. They’re so flavourful you’ll be eating straight them off the grill!

Serving your Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Enjoy on their own with your favourite BBQ sides! Roasted vegetables, or crunchy slaws and salads would work perfectly with these Korean beef ribs. But I like to serve with some steamed jasmine rice, and a side of kimchi.

Kimchi is a popular, verstaile and delicious Korean side dish. It's basically salted, fermented cabbage marinated in dried Korean chilli (gochugaru – the same thing that’s in gochujang)! Slice up some fresh cucumber on the side, and top your beef ribs with black and white sesame seeds, fresh chilli, and spring onion. It honestly doesn’t get better than this!

I truly hope you enjoy this recipe! xxx