Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs

I’ve talked about my recent love of Hawaiian food two other times now on the blog, Kalua Pork and Spam Musubi, and these Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs from Alana Kysar‘s new cookbook Aloha Kitchen is definitely being inducted as one of my favorite all-time Hawaiian dishes. I usually order these exact ribs from the local Hawaiian restaurant down the street, the one I gushed about in the Spam Musubi post. However, I never knew that they were so easy to make at home. The hardest part is waiting for the ribs to marinate overnight. I’m not kidding. Serve them with white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad or a simple green salad on the side and you’ll be good to go. Which by the way, if I could eat white rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad as side dishes to every meal, I would be a very happy man. This will quickly become one of your new favorite dinners, and you’ll want to add it to your menu rotation as often as possible. In honor of Alana’s new book and because I think we should all have a little bit of Island paradise at home, I’m giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment below with what your dream vacation is (or would be) and you’ll be in the drawing! You have until Friday to enter, and it’s open to anyone and everyone. A winner will be picked at random and notified via email. It’s a wonderful book filled with must-try recipes, especially if you want to bring a little bit of Hawaii into your own kitchen without leaving your home!

To make the ribs, in a very large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic until well combined.

**Tip: This recipe makes a lot of ribs and so you need a lot of marinade, use a big bowl or very large measuring cup with a spout to make it easier to pour the marinade over the ribs later on!**

Divide the short ribs into two or three gallon-size ziplock bags and pour equal parts of the marinade into each bag. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

**Note: For optimal flavor, Alana recommends marinading the ribs overnight. So if you can plan ahead and do this step the night before, you’ll be good to go! I did it overnight and the ribs were amazing! Just be sure to squish the bags at least three times throughout the marinating process to ensure the ribs get evenly marinaded.**

I served these ribs with cooked white rice. I figured we all know how to make rice and so I’m not showing that part, but I also served it with a Hawaiian macaroni salad because it’s delicious together. To make the macaroni salad, cook the pasta according to package directions, and then drain. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and then while still hot, stir together the pasta with the vinegar, carrot and onion until combined. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

**Tip: You want to stir the carrots and grated onion into the hot pasta because it’ll sort of cook them and develop some flavor for the salad! And it’ll take away that strong raw onion taste.**

You can go two ways here, simple mac salad with just pasta or you can add some potato to it. I love when Hawaiian macaroni salad has a bit of potato in it as well. So I cooked peeled and thinly sliced a large russet potato and boiled it until just fork tender. Then I drained and let cool and then added to the noodles in the bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, milk, sugar and a pinch of both salt and pepper (just to taste) until smooth.

Pour into the cooled pasta mixture and add the cooled potatoes. Stir everything until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

**Tip: You can definitely make the pasta salad the night before and keep in the fridge until ready to serve! However, if the salad dries a bit, stir about a tablespoon or so of milk to loosen it.**

Once ready to cook the ribs, heat an outdoor grill to medium. Remove the ribs from the marinade and cook them to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

**Tip: If the ribs seem to be burning, adjust the heat to medium-low and cook for a minute or two longer on each side. Also, if you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can also broil them in the oven for 5 minutes per side.**

Like I mentioned earlier, this recipe makes a lot of ribs, and so you can freeze half (or all) of them before grilling and then just thaw and cook another day. To do this, after they’ve marinaded, drain off the marinade, seal the bags removing the air and freeze for another day. Just thaw in the fridge the night before!

Once the ribs are done, transfer to a platter and garnish with toasted white sesame seeds and sliced scallions! Serve with a simple salad, cooked white rice and of course that macaroni salad! This is the perfect Hawaiian dinner you’ll want to make if you’re feeling like traveling to the Islands but can’t actually get away. 

Don’t forget to leave a comment below with what your dream vacation is to enter for a chance to win a copy of Alana’s book Aloha Kitchen! You have until Friday to enter. The winner will be picked at random and notified via email. Only one entry per person, let’s keep it fair. Good luck, I’m rooting for you!

UPDATE: Congratulation to Cynthia for winning the giveaway! And thank you to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon!

Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs + GIVEAWAY!

These delicious Maui-Style Kalbi Short Ribs are from Alana Kysar's debut cookbook Aloha Kitchen! A cookbook dedicated to authentic Hawaiian recipes.

Servings 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time 1 day d

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 day d 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

Ribs:

• 2 cups low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 4- inch piece fresh ginger peeled and finely grated
• 5 garlic cloves peeled and finely grated
• 6 pounds bone-in beef short ribs 1/2-inch thick flanken style (Korean or cross-cut), or 4 pounds boneless beef short ribs, 1/2-inch thick flanken style (Korean or cross-cut)
• Toasted white sesame seeds for garnish
• 3 green onions sliced, for garnish

Macaroni Salad:

• ½ pound macaroni
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 medium carrot shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated white onion
• 1 large Russet potato peeled, sliced and boiled until tender
• 1¼ cups good quality mayo
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• To make the ribs, in a very large bowl or measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic until well combined. Divide the short ribs into two or three gallon-size ziplock bags and pour equal parts of the marinade into each bag. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Although Alana recommends letting them chill overnight for optimal flavor! Just be sure to squish the bags at least three times throughout the marinating process to ensure the ribs get evenly marinaded.
• To make the macaroni salad, cook the pasta according to package directions, and then drain. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and then while still hot, stir together the pasta with the vinegar, carrot and onion until combined. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, milk, sugar and salt and pepper until smooth. Pour into the cooled pasta mixture and add the cooled potatoes. Stir everything until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. If the salad dries a bit, stir about a tablespoon or so of milk to loosen it.
• Once ready to cook the ribs, heat an outdoor grill to medium. Remove the ribs from the marinade and cook them to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. If the ribs seem to be burning, adjust the heat to medium-low and cook for a minute or two longer on each side. If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can also broil them in the oven for 5 minutes per side. Garnish the ribs with sesame seeds and green onions before serving. Serve with cooked white rice and mac salad. Enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from Alana Kysar's Aloha Kitchen

Author: The Candid Appetite