Omnomnom.
Omnomnom.
I have a treat for you today! In fact, I am still drooling thinking about it. My first Korean recipe: 돼지 갈비 (dwaeji-kalbi), or pork ribs, bathed overnight in a marinade of ginger, onion, garlic, sesame oil, and a perfect mixture of sweet, salty and umami, cooked to tender perfection in the Instant Pot, and then caramelized in a hot oven.
Omnomnom.
Unfortunately, I came to discover Korean food a little late in my life, less than a year, in fact, before my transition to an AIP-paleo diet for medical reasons. And once the transition had been made, it became nearly impossible to eat out, let alone to visit a Korean restaurant.
In the last year, as I weaned myself out of the Auto-Immune Protocol to a standard Paleo eating template, and then started introducing fermented soy and rice products into my diet, the prospect of eating many of my favourite East Asian foods became once more feasible.
I was eager to resume my education in Korean cuisine, but that proved to be a challenge, as most of the staple condiments and ferments available at Korean and Asian stores came chock-full of high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate and other delightful tongue twisters.
My second challenge was my dubious relationship with one of the key ingredients in Korean cuisine, namely, the chili pepper. Although I people something balk at the amounts of ginger, mustard, horseradish or wasabi powder that I use in my cooking, I have a notoriously poor tolerance for chili peppers. My first experience of eating kimchi-jjigae is of unsuccessfully nursing burning lips with mouthfuls of steaming rice and sips of cold water. I don’t remember tasting much of anything.
Still, I love challenges, and I was determined to recreate Korean flavours in my kitchen, using ingredients and parameters that fit my vision of health… and my predilection against chili peppers!
This recipe is simply phenomenal. If the aroma rising from your Instant Pot doesn’t make you swoon, then sinking you teeth through the caramelized fat, the sweet-and-sticky marinade and that tender pork meat precariously clinging to the bone, will win you over without a doubt. This is a dish you’ll want to make again for all of your friends (but in the end, you’ll “forget” to invite them because you’ll want all of it for yourself). It’s that good!
So go on. Lick your fingers. Lick the plate. I won’t be watching (because I’ll be busy doing the same)!
The marinade: it doesn’t look like much, but the smell… ! Like the most sinful of heavens.
Joëlle
Serves 2
Baby back ribs bathed overnight in a marinade of ginger, onion, garlic, sesame oil, and a perfect mixture of sweet, salty and umami, pressure-cooked, and then caramelized in a hot oven. If the aroma rising from your Instant Pot doesn't make you swoon, then sinking your teeth in the tender meat will definitely win you over!
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Ingredients
- 1 rack baby back ribs
- 1 Asian pear, cubed
- 1 medium onion, cubed
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 6-cm piece ginger, peeled
- 1/2 cup gluten-free tamari
- 3 tbsp shio koji, or a few teaspoons of salt
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 2-3 perilla or shiso leaves, chiffonaded
Instructions
- For the Marinade, grind Asian pear, onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor until you have a paste.
- Add the paste to a mixing bowl along with the rest of the marinade ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Remove the membrane from the ribs. To do this, take a butter knife and slide it between the membrane and the bone at one end of the rack to loosen the membrane. Once it is loose, you should be able to tear it off the length of the rack using your fingers. If it is too slippery, use a paper towel to get a better grip.
- Pour the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the ribs and seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Place the ribs in the fridge to marinate for a few hours, or overnight if you can.
- After marinating, pour the contents of the bag into the Instant Pot liner, and screw on the lid.
- Making sure the Steam Release Handle is turned to the Sealing position, set the Pressure Cook program to cook for 25 minutes on high pressure.
- When the program is done and the pressure released, preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot and transfer the ribs to an oven tray.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode to reduce the sauce. After 5-10 minutes, turn it off.
- Coat the ribs generously with the reduced sauce and place them in the oven for about 8 minutes per side to caramelize.
- Pour the remaining sauce into a bowl to serve as a dipping sauce.
- Serve with toasted sesame seeds, green onion and perilla or shiso (optional). 잘 먹겠습니다!
Notes
Shio koji (塩麹) is a lacto-fermented mixture of rice koji (rice inoculated with aspergillus oryzae spore -- the basis for many well-know Japanese ferments such as miso, sake and soy sauce). It provides enzymes and probiotics while imparting the dish with a unique umami flavour. You can substitute sea salt, himalayan salt or fish sauce. To learn more about shio koji, how to make it at home, and how to use it in the kitchen, click here.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Guidance and Inspiration
Amy + Jacky — Pressure Cooker Korean Ribs
❤ Thank you Amy and Jacky!
