Korean beef stew (Galbi-jjim)

Beef short ribs are gently simmered with vegetables, aromatics and spices, creating a rich, deeply flavoured sauce that makes this a beloved special-occasion dish in Korean cuisine.

Credit: Sippakorn Wongthanapa

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  3 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 kg beef short ribs, bone in, cut into roughly 4 cm pieces
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 150 g daikon, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 150 g Japanese sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (see Notes)
• 3 dried red chillies
• 2 whole star anise
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 6 dried jujubes (see notes)
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 2 spring onions, cut into batons
• 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ cup dried red chilli threads (optional)
• Steamed rice, to serve

For the sauce

• 2 small nashi pears, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
• ½ brown onion, roughly chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 cm piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 long green chilli, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) Korean corn syrup (see Notes)
• 125 ml (½ cup) Korean ‘soup’ soy sauce (see Notes) 

Standing time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Soak the beef short ribs in room temperature water for 1 hour to remove excess blood and any odour. 
2. Meanwhile, place the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
3. Fill a large heavy-based saucepan with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Drain the short ribs, add to the boiling water and return to the boil. Simmer for 2 - 3 minutes or until the ribs turn light grey. Drain, reserve the ribs and discard the water. Rinse the pan.
4. Return the ribs to the clean pan and pour over the sauce. Add 1 litre of water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 2 hours or until the beef is tender.
5. Add the carrot, daikon, sweet potato, chillies, star anise, black pepper, jujubes and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle over the spring onion, then transfer to a serving platter.
6. Sprinkle the stew with the pine nuts, sesame seeds and dried red chilli threads if using. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

• Japanese sweet potatoes are much sweeter than regular sweet potatoes and feature purple skins with creamy, buttery yellow flesh. They are available in large supermarkets, however if you can’t find them, use orange sweet potato instead.
• Korean corn syrup is a sweet syrup commonly used in Korean cooking. It is made from corn starch and is similar to western corn syrup but is often thicker and less sweet. Available from Asian or Korean grocery stores.
• Dried jujubes (red dates) and Korean ‘soup’ soy sauce are available from Asian or Korean grocery stores. If you can’t find ‘soup’ soy sauce, use 125ml (½ cup) regular soy sauce combined with 1 tbsp kecap manis). 

Watch how to make this recipe on Marion Grasby's Flavours Of Heart & Home streaming free on SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.