(Dwaeji Galbi) Korean-style Pork Ribs with Cucumber & Tteok-bokki

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 5kg European pork spareribs
• Sesame seeds
• 2 Green onions
• 1 Cucumber
• 350g of Tteok-bokki (Korean rice cakes)
• Sesame seeds

Ribs Marinade:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 shallots sliced into chunks
• 1 small knob of ginger
• 1 Asian pear
• 100ml oligodang or honey
• 5 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp mirin
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli peppers)
• ½ tsp MSG (optional)
• 160ml gochujang
• 2 tsp doenjang or miso paste

Tteokbokki

• 5 tbsp gochujang
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tsp minced garlic and gochugaru
• 500ml Korean soup broth

Preparation:

1. Remove the membrane from the ribs and separate them into individual ribs.
2. Blend all marinade ingredients until you achieve a smooth consistency. Be sure to taste the marinade at this stage and adjust for your preferred sugar and spice levels!
3. Save some marinade for brushing the ribs as they cook, use the rest to marinade the ribs. Make sure to massage the marinade into the ribs so they’re evenly coated. Marinate for 3-4 hours.
4. Thinly slice cucumber into strips, lightly salt them and set aside to remove excess water (alternatively, these can be pickled for more flavour!)

Cooking:

(if grilling) preheat your grill to medium-high to ensure you get a nice char on the ribs as they cook.

• Oil the grill lightly and when it starts to lightly smoke, arrange your ribs in single layers. Cook until they char lightly, flip and brush with marinade. Repeat this process flipping occasionally for ~25 minutes or until cooked through.

(if baking) preheat your oven to 140C and line a baking sheet with either baking paper or aluminium foil.

• Line your ribs into a single layer, cover with foil and bake low and slow for 2-3h to achieve fall-off-the-bone results.
• Once tender, crank up the heat to 200c and roast for an additional 15-20 minutes without the foil cover – basting with the remaining marinade and turning every few minutes to achieve a deep caramelisation.

For the Tteokbokki

• Separate the rice cakes and soak in warm water for 10 minutes (if using packed/frozen rice cakes)
• Boil the soup broth, dissolving all ingredients into the broth.
• Add the rice cakes and boil for 3-5 minutes until tender.
• Turn down the heat and simmer for a further 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Plating:

• Arrange 3-4 ribs per person on a plate.
• Roll the salted cucumber into cylinders, or twist to create twirls that can be used as garnish.
• Thinly slice green onion and sprinkle over the ribs for colour contrast.
• Pile the tteokbokki into a small tower next to the ribs – you can even drizzle the thickened sauce over the plate for garnish.