Seared Royal-Court Galbi-jjim

Method

1. Soak the ribs in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water twice. Meanwhile, put the kombu and dried shiitake in the measured water to cold-brew a stock.

   Add in this stepBone-in beef short ribs (braising cut) 700 gDried kelp (kombu) 5 gDried shiitake mushrooms 4Water (for the stock) 600 ml

2. Bring plenty of water to the boil in a 22 cm pot over high heat and blanch the ribs for 5 min. Rinse each one under running water, trim off large lumps of fat and pat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper so they brown well in the next step.

   high heat

3. Heat the oil in a 26 cm frying pan over medium-high heat and sear the ribs for 7 min, turning, until deep brown on every side. If they would touch each other, do it in batches. Pour off the fat, add the mirin and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon; keep this liquid.

   Add in this stepCooking oil 1 tbspMirin (rice cooking wine) 3 tbsp

   medium-high heat

4. Finely grate the pear and onion and mix with the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and pepper. Lift the kombu out of the stock; stem the shiitake and quarter them.

   Add in this stepAsian pear, grated 120 gOnion, grated 60 gSoy sauce 3½ tbspBrown sugar 1½ tbspMinced garlic 1½ tbspMinced ginger 1 tspToasted sesame oil 1 tbspGround black pepper 1 pinch

5. Put the seared ribs, sauce, pan juices and stock in the pot and bring to the boil over high heat, about 8 min. Set the lid slightly ajar, turn down to low heat and braise for 1 h, until a chopstick slides into the meat easily.

   high heat→low heat

6. Let the pot cool, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight. Lift off the white layer of set fat with a spoon for a clean, glossy sauce.

7. Cut the radish and carrot into 3–4 cm chunks with rounded edges and add to the pot with the chestnuts and shiitake. Cover and braise over medium-low heat for 20 min. Meanwhile, separate the egg, cook the yolk and white as thin sheets in a small non-stick pan over very low heat and cut into diamonds.

   Add in this stepKorean radish (or daikon) 150 gCarrot 100 gPeeled chestnuts 6Egg 1

   medium-low heat

8. Uncover, add the jujubes and rice syrup and cook over medium heat for 8 min, basting constantly, until the sauce is thick and the ribs are lacquered. Plate and top with the egg diamonds.

   Add in this stepDried jujubes (Korean red dates) 4Rice syrup (or corn syrup) 1 tbsp

   medium heat