Galbitang Korean Beef Soup

I’ve been on a Korean food obsession this week and craving another all time favorite of mine…galbitang!!! This is a traditional Korean soup made with beef short ribs to create a really rich and hearty broth that’s soooo delicious especially when you’re feeling cold or under the weather. My husband and I love this comfort food and have ordered it every time we head out to our favorite local Korean restaurant, Buga, here in San Diego, which I highly recommend you check out if you’re ever in town.

Now being quarantined like most of us nowadays, I’ve been missing a lot of my favorite restaurant meals and the one I’ve had on my mind this week is of course galbitang. Usually, it’s a dish I would order and not really make at home because it can take a while to prepare but today I’m going to share with you my super easy and care free version thanks to Instant Pot!! Now if you don’t have one that’s okay, you will just need to boil this for 2-3 h on the stove top.

Yes, that’s right now you can make this super delicious soup with the push of a button and minimal effort. All you need to do it pre-boil the beef short ribs and rinse them really well to get rid of any blood residue so you can ensure you have a nice clean broth. I also highly recommend you get the bone in short ribs as that’s where all the flavor is, you can often find them in the frozen isle of your local Korean store and they are usually a little cheaper than the fridge isle packaged ones. Look for the one that says they are for stewing. Just make sure to trim as much fat off of the meat before cooking as you don’t want to end up with an oily scummy broth.

Once your little prep work is done, just dump in the water, short ribs, ginger, onion, and green onions and set your Instant Pot to soup mode on high. After cooking, the meat will be so tender and juicy and literally fall off the bone. I like to add a little Korean glass noodle and some red dates to my soup to make it a little extra special and give it a subtle sweetness. I also like dipping the meat into a wasabi soy sauce inspired by our beloved restaurant Buga’s signature dipping sauce as the sharpness of the sauce goes really well with the richness and fattiness of the meat and soup. Garnish with some fresh green onions, fresh cracked black pepper, and salt to taste then serve with a hot steaming bowl of rice and you are in soup heaven!

Galbitang Korean Beef Soup

Prep time: 1 h     
Cook time: 1 h 10 min   
Total time: 2 h 10 min   
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 lb beef short ribs
• 1 medium onion
• 3 inch ginger
• 2 green onions
• 4-5 red dates
• 1 small bunch of Korean glass noodles
• 1 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste

Dipping Sauce

• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp wasabi
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced

Instructions

1. In a bowl, soak the beef ribs for at least 1 h to remove excess blood and impurities then trim off any excess fat.
2. In large pot, place your beef ribs in cold water and bring to a boil for 5-7 min. Then drain and wash the ribs and set aside.
3. In an instant pot, place your beef ribs, onion cut in half, green onions, and ginger slices. Add 8 cups of water and set the instant pot on soup setting. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, bring the soup to boil in a pot and then allow to simmer for 2-3 h until meat is tender.
4. Once cooked, skim off any excess fat floating on top and season the soup with salt to taste. Add the red dates and Korean glass noodles and simmer the soup for another 10 min.
5. Meanwhile make the dipping sauce by combining soy sauce, wasabi, sugar, white vinegar, and minced garlic in a small bowl.
6. Place beef ribs, noodles, and broth into a bowl and garnish with freshly chopped green onions and black pepper. Serve with a side of the dipping sauce and enjoy hot!