Deunggalbi-jjim (Braised Pork Back Ribs)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy pot or Dutch oven, 5 to 6 quarts
• •Large mixing bowl for soaking ribs
• •Fine grater for onion and pear
• •Ladle or wide spoon for basting

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the ribs

   Put the ribs in a large bowl and cover with cold water for 20 minutes, changing the water once if it turns very red. This pulls out loose blood and bone dust from the cut edges, so the finished sauce tastes clean instead of heavy.

2. 2

   Blanch and rinse

   Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the coarse salt and 3 slices of ginger. Add the drained ribs and boil hard for 5 minutes. Drain, then rinse the ribs under warm running water, rubbing away any gray foam or bone grit. Wash the pot too. A dirty pot gives back what you just removed.

   Do not skip the blanch. Pork ribs are cut through bone, and the cut surface carries grit. The sauce cannot fix that later.
3. 3

   Mix the sauce

   In the clean pot, stir together soy sauce, gochugaru, gochujang, sugar, rice syrup, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, grated onion, grated pear, black pepper, and the remaining 3 ginger slices. Use only 1 tablespoon gochujang. The chili paste should deepen the sauce, not turn every bite into the same sweet red flavor.

4. 4

   Start the braise

   Add the blanched ribs and 2 cups water or unsalted broth to the sauce. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer. Cover and cook 35 minutes, turning the ribs once or twice so the exposed bones do not dry out. The meat should begin to pull back from the bone tips, but it will not be tender yet.

5. 5

   Add vegetables

   Add the radish, onion wedges, carrot, and soaked shiitake if using. Cover again and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, until the radish is translucent at the edges and a chopstick passes through the thickest rib meat with slight resistance. The vegetables go in later because they should drink the sauce, not collapse into it.

6. 6

   Reduce the sauce

   Uncover the pot, raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, spooning the sauce over the ribs often. The liquid should reduce to about 1 cup and turn glossy enough to coat the ribs. This is the braise becoming jjim. Stop while there is still sauce for rice.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Stir in the scallions and green chili for the last 2 minutes, just until they soften. Taste the sauce. If it is too sharp, add 1 teaspoon rice syrup; if it is flat, add 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Scatter sesame seeds over the top and serve with hot rice, kimchi, and one clean vegetable banchan so the table does not become all salt and heat.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for pork back ribs cut across into individual bones, not a whole rack. If the butcher saws them short, rinse even more carefully because more cut bone means more grit.
• •For a soy-forward version, reduce the gochugaru to 1 tablespoon and leave out the gochujang. Add 1 more tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon rice syrup. Same technique, quieter table.
• •Radish is not filler. It softens the pork flavor and gives sweetness to the sauce without making it candy. In winter, Korean radish is at its best. Cook the month you're standing in, and use potato when the radish is weak.
• •A pressure cooker is an honest weeknight vessel: blanch the ribs first, then pressure cook with the sauce and liquid for 18 minutes, release naturally 10 minutes, add vegetables, and simmer uncovered until glossy. The safe corner to cut is time. The cleaning and final reduction still stay.

Advance Preparation

• •The ribs can be soaked, blanched, rinsed, cooled, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. That turns the cooking day into a clean braise instead of a long sink job.
• •The sauce can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Stir it before using because the chili flakes and grated fruit settle.
• •Leftovers keep 3 days refrigerated. Reheat gently with 2 to 3 tablespoons water, covered first, then uncovered for a few minutes to bring the glaze back.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)