Gochujang Short Ribs

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I love making these Gochujang Beef Short Ribs. They are sweet, spicy, umami and take zero effort to prepare. Broiled in the oven for a few minutes or on the grill. Those that know me in the kitchen say my style of cuisine is to cover everything in gojuchang and hot sauce (LOL!).

Find the Right Cut of Meat

Beef short ribs are a cut that comes from the plate primal. This is underneath the rib primal section of the beef and adjacent to the brisket. You may be familiar with short rib as a famous French dish braised with red wine and cooked for hours until tender. This cut is bone-in short ribs or a short rib plate.

The piece we look for is an additional cut. It is called the Flanken cut. Also known as cross cut short rib, or Korean short rib (galbi). This is the entire short rib plate cut at 90 degrees through the bone. The result is long strips of meat with a small piece of bone in each section.

You may be familiar with short rib as a famous French dish braised with red wine and cooked for hours until tender... This is the same muscle but crosscut around 1/2" thin slices cut directly across the bones.

Find this style of short rib at the Asian market, a local butcher shop, or Whole Foods. If you don't see it out at whole foods, this is a cut that they can make to the larger pieces in the back.

When cooked quickly this cut has an incredible meaty/beefy flavor. So much so, that in professional restaurants it's often used in burger grind.

What is Gochujang?

Gochujang is heaven in a red tub...

Gochujang is the sweet and spicy version of miso used in Korean cuisine. It's a fermented soybean paste flavored with gochu, the Korean chili pepper.

Don't let the sound of fermented food scare you. In agricultural history, storage and preservation of food has been the main focus of survival in every country. It's led to the great discoveries of everything from soy sauce to sourdough.

Be careful if you're gluten free as many varieties contain wheat or malt syrup. It's generally pretty easy to find gluten free gochujang at any asian market.

How to Make Gochujang Short Ribs

Preheat the oven to broil or broil on high. Place the oven rack in the second to highest position closest to the top heating element. For better results, preheat your sheet tray as well. For best results use a cast iron grill plate.

Season the short rib with salt. Go light on the salt as the gochujang is salty.

Rub with oil and gochujang. You don't need a lot of oil because this cut of meat has a high fat content.

Remove your preheated tray from the oven. For easy clean up, place the short ribs on foil or use a cast iron grill plate.

Broil on high for 8 minutes, or until the beef is cooked through. Be careful and start to watch it around the 6-7 minute mark. Cook the beef until heavily charred but just cooked through. This can overcook very quickly.

Serve gochujang short ribs with rice and sides like Som Tum or Kale Curtido

Check out other Asian inspired recipes like Banh Xeo, Adobo or Khao Soi