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Korean Shortribs

A Korean dish of beef short ribs marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and chilies, then grilled until tender.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Korean Shortribs

Time5 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Marinate

  1. Process all ingredients except meat in a blender until smooth.

  2. Pour the mixture into a gallon-size zip-top bag, add the shortribs to the bag, and toss to coat the meat in the marinade.

  3. Refrigerate overnight.

Grill and serve

  1. Preheat grill to 225–300°F.

  2. Add the shortribs to the grill and cover.

  3. Cook for 5 hours or until the meat falls right off the bone and is extremely tender.

  4. Serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

548Calories
28 gProtein
42 gFat
12 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Sesame + gingertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,531 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  3. Sesame + canola oiltop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together201 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Garlic + sesametop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,000 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef shortribs
Connective tissue breaks down during long, low cooking, leaving the meat tender and falling off the bone.
Soy sauce
Adds salty, savory flavor and helps season the meat during the overnight marinade.
Garlic
Contributes pungent aroma and savory depth to the marinade.
Fresh ginger
Adds bright, aromatic heat that complements the soy and garlic.
Canola oil
Carries fat-soluble flavors through the marinade and helps the meat stay moist.

The step that matters

Low, slow grilling with the lid closed. Shortribs are tough until collagen slowly converts to gelatin at low temperatures over hours. Cooking too hot can dry the meat before that breakdown finishes, so keeping the grill low and covered matters.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, garlic, sesame, ginger, canola oil, beef):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Corianderfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, garlic, sesame, ginger, canola oil, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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