Galbijjim (Braised Beef Short Ribs)

Variations

• Pork galbijjim: Use pork ribs for a lighter, cheaper version.
• Spicy galbijjim: Add gochugaru, chili, and gochujang for a fiery braise.
• Royal-court style: Garnish with pine nuts, ginkgo, and egg ribbons for holidays.
• Pressure cooker: Cut the time in half with a pressure cooker.

Tips

• The soak and the blanch remove two different things. Galbitang separates them on the same cut: soak the ribs in cold water, changing it as it reddens, then parboil from cold water, boil five minutes more once grey foam rises, and throw all that water away, rinsing each rib and the pot. The soak draws out blood still inside the meat; the parboil lifts off the protein that coagulates on the surface. Do one and not the other and whichever is left ends up in the braising liquid (stocks and broths).
• There is a ceiling on how long the pear can stay. Bulgogi names this dish while explaining it: the enzymes in pear, kiwi and pineapple genuinely do cut protein, and the catch is that they do not stop. A small quantity and a short time is the way galbijjim uses them; left longer the surface goes to mush, and unevenly, so parts collapse while parts stay intact. Canned pineapple is heat-treated and its enzymes are dead, so it does nothing at all (what marinades do).
• Sugar first and soy in stages are two separate rules. Nikujaga sets out sa-shi-su-se-so — sugar, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, miso — and the reason the sugar leads. One half is speed: a sucrose molecule is far larger and heavier than the ions salt breaks into, so it travels into food much more slowly. The other is osmosis: salt pulls water out of the cells and firms the surface, so once it is in the sugar's road is narrower still. Both at once gives meat that is salty inside and sweet only on the outside. Splitting the soy sauce is a different matter, and the same page says so: that one is aroma, not penetration. Soy sauce loses its smell over a long simmer, which is why a last measure goes in at the end — and that measure is what the line below means by the colour staying rich.
• Rounding the edges is one step past cutting large. Jjimdak makes the general case: large pieces survive twenty-odd minutes of braising with their corners. Galbijjim runs more than twice that long and bastes the pot while it does, so it goes further and removes the corners altogether — there is then nothing left to knock or abrade.
• Being better the next day is something that happens while it cools. It is the effect reviving leftovers is about. Hot, the inside of the meat is still pushing liquid out; as it cools that contraction releases and the braising liquid moves in. Letting it cool and reheating is not laziness — it is the last step of the method.
• Soaking and blanching are the key to removing the gaminess — skip them and it smells off.
• Round the edges of the radish and carrot so they don't crumble during the long braise.
• Grated pear (or apple) tenderizes the meat and adds gentle sweetness.
• Add sugar early and the soy sauce in stages so it isn't too salty and the color stays rich.
• It tastes even better reheated — a great make-ahead dish.