Ingredients

• 2 pounds flanken beef short ribs
• ½ cup shoyu or soy sauce (see Recipe Notes)
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons mirin (see Recipe Notes)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• optional: 1 tablespoon gochujang
• optional: 1 small Asian pear, peeled and finely grated
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely grated
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated (about 2 tablespoons grated)
• kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
• for serving, as desired: rice, Hawaiian mac salad, kimchi or other banchan of choice, etc.

Directions

• 1. Add the shoyu, brown sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, sesame seeds, gochujang (if using), grated pear (if using), grated onion, green onion, garlic, ginger to a baking dish. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Whisk to combine. Add the beef short ribs to the baking dish, pressing down to ensure they are completely submerged in the kalbi marinade. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 12 hours or up to 3 days—the longer the better!
• 2. About 30 minutes before you’d like to begin grilling, pull the short ribs from the fridge to let them come up to room temperature as the grill preheats. Prepare the grill for high direct heat grilling, 550-600 degrees F.
• 3. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the grill, place the marinated kalbi short ribs on the grill, shaking off any excess marinade into the baking dish (discard excess marinade). Be sure to place them on the grill such that they’re positioned perpendicular to the grill grates, which prevents them from slipping through as they grill or as you handle them. Grill 2-3 minutes per side, until charred as desired.
• 4. Serve grilled Korean short ribs immediately, with your favorite banchan or BBQ sides. At my house, we enjoy these grilled short ribs Hawaiian plate lunch-style, with rice, macaroni salad, and kimchi. Enjoy!

Notes

• Claire loved the short ribs in Hawaii and this recipe attempts to recreate that. 9/6/25 started with nearly 10lbs short ribs. Tripled the soy and brown sugar. Used 1oz each soy oil and sriracha. 2 heads garlic. Had no mirin. Used about 2 oz. candied ginger. I had part of a lemon and a cutie to add juices.
• Result 9/7/25: Delicious but maybe a bit intense. Some recipes use less soy and some water to make up the volume. I think that would be better.

Nutrition