Korean Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Korean Braised Beef Short Ribs on oval white platter with meat fork sprinkled with sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallions.

4.60 from 429 votes

My Korean Beef Short Ribs are spicy, sweet, amazing, and super easy! Slow-braising in the slow cooker makes them fall-off-the-bone tender, giving the rich, savory sauce time to develop a perfectly balanced, complex flavor. It’s the kind of restaurant-quality dish that tastes like you fussed all day!

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Total Time6 15

Course: Beef

Cuisine: Korean

Diet: Low Lactose

Servings:

Author: Carol | From A Chef's Kitchen

Equipment

Ingredients

1 medium onion thinly sliced vertically
10 large cloves garlic sliced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce tamari or coconut aminos
1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons gochujang (fermented Korean chile paste) or to taste and tolerance
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable or peanut oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 - 3 1/2 pounds beef short ribs (Between 4 and 8 ribs. Amount will depend on size and meatiness.) bone in, trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 scallions white and light green part only, thinly sliced diagonally, for garnish, optional

Instructions

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to HIGH to preheat. (Can turn down to LOW later if desired.)
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Generously season beef short ribs with salt and black pepper.
Working in batches if needed, add short ribs to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and brown well on all sides, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.
Transfer ribs, meat side down, to slow cooker.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours, or on LOW for 8-10 hours, or until very tender.
Combine the cornstarch with approximately 4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid in a small bowl, and stir until smooth.
Pour the cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker, stir to blend, and cook on HIGH, uncovered, for approximately 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.
Turn slow cooker off and let stand 10 minutes. (Sauce will thicken more upon standing.)
Transfer to a platter and garnish with sesame seeds and, if desired, thinly sliced scallions.

Video

Notes

Recipe from 2016 retested and updated. The sauteed scallions in the video are an optional side and were in the previous version.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

You can also use tamari or coconut aminos in place of soy sauce. Coconut aminos won’t have the flavor depth of soy sauce or tamari.

TIPS:

Short ribs shrink as the connective tissue melts. One meaty rib per person is usually enough; allow two if they’re smaller.
Remove the thick fat cap from the side opposite the bone, but leave the bone and some marbling for the best flavor and texture.
These ribs taste even better the next day after the flavors have had time to develop.
Remove fat easily when made ahead. Don’t thicken the sauce before refrigerating. Cool and refrigerate overnight so the fat rises to the surface and solidifies, then remove it before reheating and thickening the sauce.

MAKE AHEAD:

As the ribs rest, the flavors deepen, making the sauce even richer. Making them ahead of time also makes it easy to remove excess fat.
Cool, then refrigerate overnight so the fat rises to the top and solidifies.
When ready to serve, remove the fat, reheat in the slow cooker, and thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry.

OVEN INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ribs in oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot.
Add the other ingredients.
Cover securely and braise for approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Transfer the short ribs to a plate.
Remove some of the cooking liquid and let it cool. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cooking liquid, then add it to the Dutch oven with the liquid/broth. Simmer until the liquid has thickened.
Place the short ribs back in the Dutch oven, and let them rest and reheat in the hot liquid/sauce.

INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS:

Brown the ribs in oil. Add the other ingredients, then cook the short ribs for about 45 minutes on High, followed by a 10 to 15-minute natural release.
Transfer the short ribs to a plate, then turn the Saute function back on for the liquid/broth in the Instant Pot.
Dissolve the cornstarch in some of the cooking liquid and add it to the liquid/broth in the Instant Pot. Simmer until the liquid has thickened.
Place the short ribs back into the IP and let the ribs rest and reheat in the hot liquid/sauce.

Nutrition