Instant Pot Galbitang (Beef Short Rib Soup)

This Instant Pot galbitang recipe will give you the same delicious result with a nice and clean taste as the traditional stove top recipe. 

Galbitang (갈비탕), Korean beef short rib soup, is a clear, delicate soup made by boiling beef short ribs with aromatic vegetables. It’s hearty and nourishing! Previously, I showed you how to make galbitang the traditional way over stove top. This time, I’ll show you how I make this soup in my Instant Pot to achieve the same delicious result.

Traditionally, Korean cooks soak the ribs in cold water to draw out blood. Then, blanch them in boiling water to remove any remaining blood and any impurities and rinse everything clean before actually making the soup. All this is done to give the soup the nicely clean taste it’s known for.

Finally, the ribs are boiled along with Korean radish (mu), onion, garlic, and ginger until fork tender.

Galbitang is fairly simple to make. And it’s quicker with a pressure cooker!

Soaking and parboiling the short ribs

See my Instant Pot Braised Short Ribs for purchasing and cleaning short ribs. 

In my Instant Pot adaptation, I skip soaking all together. You can certainly soak them if you want. Instead, I briefly cook the ribs (2 minutes on Manual High Pressure) in water just enough to cover. During the build-up of steam, the short ribs release blood and fat. I then rinse off the brown scums and fat. You can reuse the strained cooking liquid to make the soup if you like your soup to taste more “beefy”.

This method effectively removes excess blood and fat without losing much of the meaty flavor, and it doesn’t involve another pot. 

You can skip this step if you want. But, because the Instant Pot is locked during cooking, you can’t skim off the scums floating at the top, which, if not removed, will turn into fine particles, making the soup not as clean and clear.  

If you skip this step, you can alternatively strain the broth through a fine sieve or cloth after pressure cooking the short ribs.

Pressure cooking the ribs

Once you have cleaned the parboiled ribs and the pot, you’re ready to make the soup in your pressure cooker. Place the ribs in the pot, and add the aromatic vegetables and water. 

What about mu (무, Korean radish)? Basically, there are two options in terms of the timing of adding the radish. The first option is to cut into 2 large blocks and add to the pot along with the aromatic vegetables. However, no matter how big the radish blocks are, they will get quite mushy after 35 to 40 minutes of pressure cooking. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like mushy radish. 

So, I like to add the radish after pressure cooking the short ribs. For this option, you’ll need to cut the radish into smaller bite size pieces, add to the soup after pressure cooking the ribs and cook for about 10 minutes on Sauté until the radish turns translucent. 

A good soup soy sauce (gukganjang, 국간장) makes a huge difference in the taste of the soup. If you don’t have Korean soup soy sauce, you can use light fish sauce or regular soy sauce. However, regular soy sauce can make the soup very dark, so just use a little bit and season with salt.   

Remove the fat:  You can skim off any remaining fat or use a fat separator if you’re serving while still hot. If you have time, you can also let the entire pot sit in the refrigerator for the fat to solidify so it can be removed effortlessly.

More Instant Pot Recipes:

Instant Pot Galbijjim
Instant Pot Spicy Galbijjim
Instant Pot Kkorijjim (Oxtail)
Pressure Cooker Dakbokkeumtang (Spicy Chicken Stew)
Instant Pot Boiled Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Kimchi Jjigae

Have you tried this Instant Pot galbitang recipe? Please rate the recipe below and leave a comment! Stay in touch by following me on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Instant Pot Galbitang (Beef Short Rib Soup)

5 from 6 votes

Main, Soup

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Print Recipe

Equipment

• 6 qt pressure cooker

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds short ribs
• 1 medium onion cut into halves
• 2 large scallions white parts
• 8 plump garlic cloves (or 1 whole bulb) If using bulb, cut into halves crosswise
• 3 thin ginger slices 1-inch rounds
• 2 Tablespoons soup soy sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound Korean radish cut into bite size pieces (about 1.5-inch square, 1/3-inch thick) see note
• 3 ounces starch noodles dangmyeon, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes - optional
• 2 scallions, finely chopped garnish

Instructions

• Trim off any thick layer of surface fat. In the pot, rinse the ribs with cold water a couple of times to remove surface blood and bone dust. Drain, and fill the pot with enough water to cover the ribs, about 4 cups.
  
• Close the lid tightly. Press the “Manual” function and High Pressure, and using the “-” button, adjust the time to 2 minutes. Make sure the pressure switch is turned to “sealing”. When finished, carefully release the pressure.
  
• Discard the cooking liquid (or save to use it for the soup), and thoroughly rinse the ribs and the pot clean.
  
• Return the ribs to the pot, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and soup soy sauce. Add about 10 cups of water, making sure the water level stays below the max line for the pot. Close the lid tightly. Pressure cook the ribs for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. NPR 10 minutes.
  
• Then, remove the ribs, and remove the aromatic vegetables with a strainer. Skim off the fat.
  
• Put the ribs back in the pot along with the cut radish. Change the Instant Post setting to “Saute”, and boil until the radish turns translucent, about 10 minutes after coming to a boil. Add the optional noodles a couple of minutes before turning the Instant Pot off.
  
• Salt and pepper to taste. Skim off or use a fat separator to remove any remaining fat, if serving while still hot. Or chill the soup and discard solidified fat. Garnish with the chopped scallions to serve.

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