Full Recipe
Author
Food Network | 2026-04-13
Description
As far as Korean barbecue goes, LA kalbi is as Korean American as it gets, but no one agrees on where it came from. The most common story is when Koreans moved to LA and discovered the flanken-cut short ribs at Mexican markets, they marinated the meat with Korean flavors and LA kalbi was born. The other main story is more technical, claiming that because flanken-cut short ribs are a lateral cut of meat, “LA” is short for “lateral.” Maybe both stories are true. What I do know for sure is that every Korean American in the 1980s and ‘90s ate LA kalbi growing up. When I was a kid, I loved nothing more than chewing the sinew around the bone, and I'd get mad at my sister for not eating that part. Korean barbecue is all about hitting the sweet-savory balance between sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce, and you can use the marinade in this recipe, from my book Hand Taste: Cook Like a Korean Grandmother, for other cuts of meat. I also like to add fish sauce, which isn't classic, but I believe it gives the meat much more umami. For serving, have shears to cut the short ribs into smaller pieces at the table. If you want to make it spicy, add a few spoonfuls of gochujang when you're blending the marinade.
