Galbi갈비

Grilled galbi has long been the star of a meal for guests. The traditional method calls for tender beef short ribs cut into pieces about 7 cm long and scored deeply down to the bone, marinated in green onion, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, ground sesame, sugar and pepper, then grilled on a hot rack over charcoal. Well-grilled galbi should be a deep reddish brown, with meat that comes away easily from the bone, and it tastes best grilled at the table and eaten on the spot rather than cooked ahead.

Among regional styles, Suwon in Gyeonggi Province is the most famous. Legend has it that when King Jeongjo built Hwaseong Fortress he gave calves to the families who moved to the new town, and the trade in the growing herds gave rise to a cattle market. By the 1940s it ranked among the country's three biggest, and beef restaurants flourished around it. When a restaurant in Yeongdong Market that sold beef-rib hangover soup began serving grilled ribs and drew crowds, Suwon wang-galbi, "king galbi" made with big ribs seasoned with salt instead of soy sauce, took shape.

Idong galbi from Pocheon, also in Gyeonggi, has a different backstory. The Idong area is home to many army units, and a restaurant opened there in the late 1960s is said to have won fame by word of mouth among visiting families after serving generous helpings of ribs to soldiers who rarely got to eat them. Its signature is rib meat scored and spread wide, pinned with toothpicks and flavored with a sweet soy marinade.