''Tteok-galbi'' () or grilled short rib patties is a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

beef dish made with minced

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

short ribs. * Originally a royal dish, ''tteok-galbi'' is now a local specialty of

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

in the central-west region and

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

in the south-west region of the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

Etymology

''Tteok-galbi'' (), literally translated to "cake ribs" as ''

tteok ''Tteok'' () is a general term for Korean rice cakes. They are made with steamed flour of various grains, especially glutinous rice, glutinous and non-glutinous Japonica rice, rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ...

'' () means "rice (or other grain) cake" and ''

galbi ''Galbi'' * (), ''kalbi'', ''galbi-gui'' (), or grilled ribs is a type of '' gui'' (grilled dish) in Korean cuisine. "''Galbi''" is the Korean word for "rib", and the dish is usually made with beef short ribs. When pork spare ribs or another m ...

'' () means "rib". The name comes from the food's similarity in appearance to ''tteok''. The process of kneading and shaping the meat is similar to the process of making a

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include ...

. The final dish is also soft and tender, much like a rice cake in texture. The word ''tteok-galbi'' has a relatively short history that starts in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Before that, the dish was called ''hyo-galbi'' (), meaning "

filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...

ribs", or ''no-galbi'' (), meaning "elder ribs", as it was often a dish for older people whose teeth were too weak to bite off meat from the rib bones. The term may have been coined at the historic restaurant Sinsikdang. Both the terms ''hyo-galbi'' and ''no-galbi'' were used during the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

era (1392–1897).

History

''Tteok-galbi'' was a beef dish in

Korean royal court cuisine Korean royal court cuisine was the style of cookery within Korean cuisine traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897. There has been a revival of this cookery style in the 21st century. It is sa ...

. One story says the dish was created because it was not befitting for kings to gnaw on '' galbi-gui'' (grilled short ribs). Recipes from

that char-grill the beef are said to have been imparted from court ladies in the late Joseon era, while the recipes from

were reportedly passed on by scholarly-officials in exile. The

Damyang Damyang County (''Damyang-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Tourism is a major local industry. Notable local products include bamboo goods and strawberries. Damyang is not to be confused with Danyang, which is located in ...

''tteok-galbi'', passed on by Song Hŭigyŏng (1376–1446) is the most famous among them. In modern South Korea, ''tteok-galbi'' is also made with ingredients mixed with or other than beef, such as

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

. ''Tteok-galbi'' made with half beef and half pork was first created and sold by Choe Jeo-ja in the 1950s, in Songjeong,

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, South Korea. Now there is a "''tteok-galbi'' street" specializing in the half beef and half pork dish in the Songjeong area. ''Ori-tteok-galbi'' (), made with duck meat, is a popular dish in

Preparation

Meat is separated from beef short ribs, finely minced, and marinated with various seasonings and aromatics, such as

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, ground

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

juice,

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, minced

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

, minced

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, ''

cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

'' (rice wine),

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

, and

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. ...

. The marinade is boiled, sifted, and cooled beforehand. The marinated meat is shaped and attached back to the rib bones using a small amount of wheat flour as glue, and char-grilled over oak. Once on the gridiron, the meat patty is brushed with the sauce while it is grilled. Songjeong ''tteok-galbi'' is made by shaping a mixture of beef and pork into rectangles and grilling. Pork is added to make it fattier since the beef is too dry by itself. The recipe of Choe Jeo-ja calls for hand-kneading the meat for a long time in a seasoning made from nearly 20 ingredients including '' dasima'' (kelp),

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

and

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

. The sauce is intermittently brushed on the meat while it is slowly grilled over charcoal.

Eating

Chopsticks Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the dominant hand, secured by fingers, and wielded as extensions of the han ...

are used to cut ''tteok-galbi''.

References

{{Reflist Korean beef dishes Ground meat Korean royal court cuisine Street food in South Korea