Kalbi Short Ribs appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Kalbi short ribs · Honolulu
Korean-style flanken-cut beef short ribs marinated in a sweet shoyu glaze with sesame and garlic, char-grilled. Standard plate-lunch entree at every Hawaiian drive-in since the 1960s.
Korean immigrants arrived in Hawaii from 1903 to work the cane fields. They brought kalbi (galbi in Korean Romanization), the cross-cut beef short ribs marinated in soy, sugar and sesame and grilled over open coals. By the 1960s the dish was a standard plate-lunch entree at Honolulu and Pearl City drive-ins. Side Street Inn and Rainbow Drive-In both cook canonical versions; the Hawaii style is sweeter than the South Korean original, reflecting Hawaiian palate preferences.
Where to eat in Honolulu:
- Rainbow Drive-In
- Side Street Inn Ala Moana