Maeun Deung Galbijjim(매운 등갈비찜) is a popular braised dish in Korea. Sometimes Korean people use beef short ribs, but it is more commonly cooked with pork ribs (돼지등갈비, Deung Galbi) and is cheaper.
There are diverse versions of Deung Galbijjim, but the spicy seasoning works great with pork ribs since it eliminates the smell that naturally comes out of pork meat. And most importantly, the most ‘Korean version’ of this dish would be to make it spicy. The recipe is spicy, yet you can make it less spicy by adding more soy sauce instead of gochugaru(고추가루, red pepper flakes) and spicier by adding more gochugaru and sliced jalapenos.
First of all, for 4 people servings, prepare 2 pounds of pork ribs. Separate the ribs by cutting through the meat between the bones. Rinse them thoroughly and let them sit in cold water for about 20 minutes to draw out excess blood. During that time, boil a large pot of water and once boiling, place in the pork ribs and boil them for about 5 minutes. Make sure you place the meat once the water is boiling so that the meat stays tender and juicy. Drain water well and clean the pot.
Second stage is prepping your vegetables and making the spicy sauce for seasoning. Cut 1 onion, 1 carrot, and 2 potatoes into bite sizes. Chop 3 green onions and 1 jalapeno pepper. Add in more jalapeno if you are a big fan of spicy. Next, in a small bowl, put 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 4 tablespoons of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Gently mix the sauce together and put it aside.
Last stage is boiling and simmering pork ribs until the meat is tender and savory. Place the pork ribs back into a clean pot. On a medium heat, start stir-frying the meat. Once your pork ribs start turning into brown color here and there, add in 4 cups of water just enough to have all the pork ribs in the water and turn up to high heat. Pour in chopped vegetables and pre-made sauce into a large pot.
Once water in the pot starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium and keep boiling for 30 minutes. Do not forget to give it a smooth stir so that every ingredient is evenly cooked once in every 10 minutes. Continue to simmer on a low heat until the liquid sauce is reduced to about half of the starting amount. You can honestly forget about it until the meat is fork tender, juicy, and ready to be served. Last but not least, serve pork ribs on the plate and garnish with more sliced scallions. This dish goes great with any combination of kimchi, pickles, and rice. Enjoy!
