Meat & BBQ
LA Galbi (Korean BBQ Short Ribs)
Prep
30 min
Cook
10 min
Servings
4
Steps
- 1
If the ribs aren't already cross-cut, ask your butcher for flanken-style short ribs — this is the specific cut that makes LA galbi work.
- 2
Soak the ribs in cold water for 20-30 minutes to draw out some blood, then pat dry — this keeps the marinade from turning muddy.
- 3
Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, pear, water, sesame oil, garlic, onion, and green onions.
- 4
Marinate the ribs at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- 5
Heat a grill or grill pan until genuinely hot.
- 6
Grill the ribs 2-3 minutes per side, until caramelized at the edges but not charred through.
- 7
Let rest a couple minutes before serving.
Did you know — Korean culture
LA galbi exists because of a butcher-shop mismatch, not a recipe innovation. Korean immigrants in 1980s Los Angeles wanted the galbi they knew from home, but American butchers didn't cut beef ribs the traditional Korean way. Cutting across the bone instead of along it — creating the thin, quick-marinating flanken strips now called "LA galbi" — was the workaround, and it outlasted the shortage that caused it.
The cross-cut is the entire reason LA galbi cooks and marinates fast. Slicing across the bone instead of along it gives you thin strips studded with small rounds of bone, instead of the thick, single-bone slabs Korean butchers traditionally cut. That's a much bigger deal for texture and marinade time than it sounds.
It exists because of a supply problem, not a recipe idea. Korean immigrants in 1980s Los Angeles wanted the galbi they knew from home, but American butchers didn't cut ribs the traditional Korean way. Cross-cutting was the workaround — and it turned out to marinate faster and cook faster than the original, which is most of why it stuck around even after traditional cuts became easier to find.
Soaking the ribs in cold water before marinating isn't optional if you want a clean-tasting glaze. Skip it and the marinade picks up a muddier, more mineral edge from the blood still in the meat.
Troubleshooting
Ribs charred outside, still tough inside? The grill was probably too hot, or the ribs too thick for a cross-cut piece. Flanken-style should cook fast — a few minutes a side, not longer.
Marinade tastes flat? Give it more time. Four hours is a minimum, not a target — overnight makes a real difference with a cut this thin.
Can't find flanken-style ribs? Ask a butcher specifically for "LA galbi cut" or "cross-cut short ribs" — it's a specific request, not something that shows up pre-packaged at most grocery stores.