← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg meaty beef short ribs, cut into 5 cm pieces
• ½ Korean (Asian) pear, peeled and chopped
• ½ Onion, chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• 120 ml Soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 3 tbsp mirin or rice wine
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 600 ml Water
• 350 g Korean radish (mu) or daikon, cut into large chunks
• 2 Carrot, cut into large chunks
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until soft, halved
• 8 Peeled chestnuts (cooked or vacuum-packed) (optional)
• 6 Dried jujubes (Korean red dates, daechu) (optional)
• 2 Spring onion, sliced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Soak the ribs in a big bowl of cold water for 1 hour, changing the water once, to draw out the blood. Trim off any thick lumps of fat.
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the ribs and boil for 5 min. Drain, rinse each piece under the tap to remove the scum and wash the pot.
3. Blend the pear, onion, garlic and ginger to a purée, then stir in the soy sauce, sugar, honey, mirin, sesame oil and pepper.
4. Put the ribs back in the pot with the sauce and the water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, turning the ribs now and then.
5. Trim the sharp edges off the radish and carrot chunks so they do not break up. Add them to the pot with the mushrooms, chestnuts and jujubes.
6. Simmer with the lid ajar for 40–50 min, basting often, until the meat is very tender and the sauce has reduced to a glossy glaze. Skim off the fat from the surface.
7. Pile into a serving dish, spoon over the sauce and finish with spring onion and sesame seeds.

Tips

• It tastes even better the next day: chill it overnight, lift off the hard fat, then reheat gently.
• No Asian pear? Use a sweet apple, or a quarter of a kiwi, which tenderises fast, so do not leave it longer than a few hours.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang Beyond Kimchee FutureDish