Kalbijjim with Root Vegetables and Beef-Fat Croutons

Kalbijjim is the ultimate Korean braised dish—but the braise in question involves gently boiling short ribs until they’re fall-apart tender, then finishing them in a sweet and salty dream of a soy sauce broth. Balanced by brown sugar, maple syrup, and a little grated apple, this is a redolent braise with great popular appeal, the beef stew recipe everyone likes. Growing up, I only ever had it at birthdays and fancy parties, so learning how to make it as an adult felt like a real rite of passage. It does take a couple days to make, however, as you’ll want to refrigerate the beef stock to remove the fat, and then use that fat to fry up some croutons in the oven (which is why I would start this the night before you plan to eat it). Kalbijjim is not an everyday food, to be sure; it’s a special occasion. But who’s to say dinner can’t be a special occasion?

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 20:04:40 GMT

Ingredients

4 servings

2 poundsbeef short ribs

English-cut, bone-in, frozen ribs are okay 7 knife 2 inch piece spoons, such as country-style sourdough, crusts removed and torn into bite-size pieces

0.5yellow onion

0.5red apple

5 tablespoonssoy sauce

Instructions

Step 1

1. Soak the ribs in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes. 2. Drain and add the ribs to a large soup pot with the onion, half of the jalapeños, the garlic, ginger, and 8 cups cold tap water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover with a lid, and continue gently boiling until the ribs are tender and the stock is reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour 30 minutes. You should be left with about 2 cups stock, including fat. If you have more, then keep boiling and reducing; if you have less, then add water. 3. Remove the ribs from the pot and set aside. Drain the stock through a sieve into a bowl, discarding the solids. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate overnight. Cover and refrigerate the cooked short ribs, as well. 4. The next day, use a fork to remove the solidified fat from the surface of the stock and transfer it to a small microwave-safe bowl. 5. Meanwhile, grate the apple into a small bowl and stir in the soy sauce, brown sugar, and maple syrup. 6. Place the ribs in a large pot. Pour in the reserved beef stock and apple-soy mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and continue gently boiling until the stock has reduced by about half, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the remaining jalapeño, the radishes, carrot, and half of the daepa and continue boiling until the vegetables have softened, about 15 minutes. 7. Meanwhile, to make the croutons, preheat the oven to 400°F. 8. If the beef fat is still hard, microwave in 10-second intervals to melt. On a sheet pan, toss the bread pieces with the melted beef fat, the remaining scallions, and salt. Bake until the bread is crispy, about 10 minutes. 9. Serve the kalbijjim with the scallion-y beef-fat croutons scattered atop each serving and some white rice.