Roy Choi’s Braised Short-Rib Stew

Name: Roy Choi’s Braised Short-Rib Stew
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: asian, korean
Ingredients: 4 pounds bone-in short ribs; 1 small bunch scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped; 1 1/2 cups soy sauce; 1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger; 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped; 1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled (about 2 heads); 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup mirin; 1/2 cup fresh orange juice; 1/2 cup apple juice; 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems reserved for another use, halved or quartered if large; 1 cup jarred, peeled chestnuts; 1 cup taro, peeled and cut into large dice (about a 3-inch segment); 1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into large dice (about 2 carrots); 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about half a squash)

Recipe from Roy Choi

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated Feb. 10, 2020

Roy Choi’s Braised Short-Rib Stew — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews

Total Time: 3½ hours
Rating: 4(2,114)
Comments: Read comments

Here is an adaptation of the Korean braised-short-rib stew known as galbijjim, a staple of neighborhood potlucks and church suppers and, in the words of the Los Angeles chef Roy Choi, “that meal from home that every Korean kid says his or her mom does best.” His recipe (well, my version of his recipe, which is his version of his mom’s) is rich and deeply flavored, thickly sauced and pungent with sugar, spice, soy and garlic. It is the sort of meal you could put together on a weekend afternoon and serve for nights to come. It is the best sort of family food. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: Choi Division

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

4pounds bone-in short ribs
1small bunch scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped
1½cups soy sauce
¼cup chopped fresh ginger
1small yellow onion, roughly chopped
½cup garlic cloves, peeled (about 2 heads)
½cup granulated sugar
½cup mirin
½cup fresh orange juice
½cup apple juice
½pound shiitake mushrooms, stems reserved for another use, halved or quartered if large
1cup jarred, peeled chestnuts
1cup taro, peeled and cut into large dice (about a 3-inch segment)
1cup carrots, peeled and cut into large dice (about 2 carrots)
1cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about half a squash)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put short ribs in a bowl, and cover with water. Drain, and discard water. Repeat twice. Remove short ribs from bowl, and score them diagonally across the top of the meat. Return ribs to the bowl, and rinse again. Remove, and pat dry.
Step 2
In a blender or food processor, combine scallions, soy sauce, ginger, onion, garlic, sugar, mirin, orange juice and apple juice, then pulse to purée. Add a little water if you need to thin out the sauce so it combines.
Step 3
Put puréed sauce in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid, add 3 cups water and stir to combine. Bring pot to a boil over high heat, then add the ribs to the pot and lower heat to a simmer. Cover pot.
Step 4
Cook ribs over low for at least 2 hours. Add vegetables, cover and simmer, 30 minutes more or so, until meat is tender and vegetables are cooked through. Serve warm.

Tips

Short ribs produce a good amount of fat. Get rid of the excess by making the stew ahead of time, refrigerating it overnight and skimming off any fat that collects on top. (Reserve for cooking potatoes or other root vegetables.) Warm through before serving.
For a slow-cooker version, add the scored meat, vegetables, sauce and 2 cups water (instead of 3) to the machine. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. If you like firmer vegetables, wait to add them to the slow cooker 5 to 6 hours into cooking.

Ratings

4 out of 5

2,114 user ratings

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Comments

Wen7 years ago

This is my go-to recipe when I have company.
I always brown the meat beforehand with onion, garlic, ginger and scallion.
No need for the sugar. I use 1 cup of orange juice instead of the two different types. I use 2/3 cup of soy sauce.
The dish is rather greasy because short rib is tasty but contains a lot of fat.
I keep the dish in the fridge for one night so that the fat separates to the top and separate it out.
Then I add in all the fresh veggies and cook for another hour the second day.

Martha7 years ago

I've done short ribs in the slow cooker. After 7-8 hours they came out deliciously tender. So tender, The connective grisly part is deliciously edible.
I left out the canned water chestnuts. If you can't get fresh, use jicama instead. Once you taste a fresh water chestnut, you'll never settle for those awful canned ones. Instead of the OJ and apple juice, l use grated Asian pear and a squeeze of lime juice. I agree there's too much sugar. Cut back. substitute the vegetables for any you like.

Ruth7 years ago

What if I wanted to make this in a slow cooker? Any suggestions on the best way to adapt the recipe?

cary4 months ago

This is an overly sweet recipe. I would advise reducing the sugar added from 1/2 c. to 1-2 Tablespoons and make it dark sugar rather than white. While it is Roy’s family recipe, it has no spices and would benefit from thyme. At the end I removed all the meat and vegetables and cooked the sauce down by 50% to concentrate and thicken it.

Sung Park5 months ago

As a Korean, I would say to those who cut out the sugar completely - while I respect everyone’s preferences, it’s not really galbi jjim without a sweet element. That’s a crucial part of its identity. Otherwise, it’s generic braised beef short ribs. I like some of the suggestions of substituting fruit or fruit juice. Or adding some sweet wine of some sort.

Brian Carter5 months ago

Will try this with the much cheaper rib fingers.

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