Updated March 17, 2024
Look no further for an authentic Korean BBQ seasoning recipe from a Korean from Seoul!
My favorite family nights out growing up were to eat Korean BBQ, or “gogi,” (meat), as we called it.
My favorite KBBQ was the salty and sweet galbi cooked “LA style.” Koreans call this “LA Galbi,” as it arose among Koreans living in LA as a Korean-American fusion dish!
That delicious LA Galbi is what we’re creating today!
Korean BBQ restaurants can get EXPENSIVE, even in Korea. Today, you’ll learn how to reenact the KBBQ restaurant experience for personal consumption at home. We’re only using ingredients that you can easily find in most grocery stores, including Whole Foods.
Don’t worry if it’s your first time making Korean BBQ seasoning! You can prepare this dish in less than easy 10 steps. This great recipe is a fantastic way to start your Korean cuisine journey!
The best thing about this Korean BBQ sauce is that you can use it on any meat or on rice to add savory flavors to it. This thick sauce is one of my favorite ways to create a complex flavor profile that tickles my taste buds!
What cuts of meat is this Korean BBQ seasoning for?
Although this Korean BBQ seasoning is primarily for beef short ribs, it’s also fantastic for chicken wings, pork ribs and pork tenderloin!
There’s really only 3 seasonings used in Korean cuisine: soy sauce, doenjang (soybean paste) and gochujang (chili paste). This Korean BBQ seasoning is the main soy sauce-based seasoning that can be used with basically any type of meat!
What should I eat Korean BBQ with?
Korean BBQ is eaten with steaming hot white rice that comes in burning stainless steel bowls with equally hot lids. I never understand how the restaurant Aunties hold those bowls between this index and thumb fingers all day, every day!
Koreans eat the KBBQ in the form of a “ssam” wrap, where you take a big leafy green about the size of your hand, plop a hefty spoonful of rice with a slice or two of KBBQ, and add a dabbing of ssamjang, a sauce made from a mixture of doenjang and gochujang.
KBBQ is typically eaten with red lettuce, romaine, and perilla that are served by the leaf.
It’s not a full-fledged gogi night without pairing the KBBQ with stews like kimchi jjigae (with kimchi and pork) and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste soup).
With that, let’s dive into this delicious homemade Korean BBQ Seasoning Recipe!
Tasty Homemade Korean BBQ Seasoning Recipe (From a Local!)
Equipment
- Blender or Food Processor
- Large Bowl
- Strainer
- Large Airtight Containers
- Paper Towels
Ingredients
- 4.5 lb Beef Short Ribs
Sauce Base
- 1 cup Soy Sauce
- 3 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar or White Sugar or Turbinado Sugar
- 2 Green Onions
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 3 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- 1 tsp Ginger
To Blend (& Add to Sauce)
- 3 cups Water
- 1/2 Korean Pear or Pear or Apples
- 1/2 Yellow Onion 1 whole onion if it's small
- 1.5 cloves Garlic or 4 tbsp of minced garlic
Instructions
Soak the Beef
- Soak the beef short ribs in cold water for 30 minutes to get the blood out of the water. This is a pretty typical practice in Korea, with the goal of unpleasant scents out of the beef.
Prepare the Sauce
- While the beef is soaking, roughly chop the pear, onion, garlic and green onions. Put the chopped ingredients into the blender, pour water on top and blend away!
- Strain the blended ingredients and only keep the liquid. Pour the liquid into a large bowl to allow for space for the rest of the sauce ingredients.
- To the liquid, mix in the rest of the ingredients that form the sauce base. Pour in the soy sauce and sesame oil. Then stir in the sugar. Add the green onions, black pepper, sesame seeds and ginger!
Marinate the Beef
- Remove the beef short ribs from the water and remove excess moisture with kitchen towels. Place the beef short ribs into a large airtight container.
- Pour your sauce over the beef short ribs and let it soak in the fridge for 12 hours for best results.
Cook the Korean BBQ
- Put the beef short ribs on a frying pan and pour some of the excess sauce so that it forms a shallow layer on the pan.
- Cook on a medium high heat level and place a lid on the pan to allow for maximum juiciness.
- Lift the lid, and reduce to a medium low heat level and continue flipping the meat on each side until your KBBQ is ready!
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