Here by popular demand: Instant Pot Korean Short Ribs! It’s made in a jiffy and Whole30 and gluten-free, too!
The best Instant Pot short ribs recipe!
Ever since the scales fell from my eyes and I became a raving Instant Pot evangelist a few years ago, readers have been asking me to convert their favorite recipes so they can be cooked in this magical device. Requests run the gamut from the simple (kalua pig!) to the impossible (fish ’n chips!). Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, folks, but not every dish can or should be cooked under high pressure.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you can make the dish faster and/or tastier using a different method, don’t cook it in your pressure cooker. For example, if you insist on cooking delicate fish fillets in your Instant Pot, the statistical likelihood of overcooking those pricey pieces of protein is 99.99%. For the love of cod, people: reach for parchment paper (and the technique shown in this recipe) or a frying pan (and the method demonstrated in this recipe) instead. And to the reader who asked me for an Instant Pot kabob recipe: I hate to break it to you, but a pressure cooker is crap at grilling and/or broiling meat.
Korean short ribs in a fraction of the time!
That said, some recipes—particularly stews, braises, and soups—are forehead-smackingly perfect for converting into Instant Pot versions. Take this recipe, which is a super-straightforward adaptation of my classic Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs recipe. This deeply flavorful, Asian-inspired dish has long been a fan favorite, but it turns out that my Korean Short Ribs are even simpler to prepare in the Instant Pot—and just as deliciously satisfying to eat. For the sake of speed and ease, you don’t even need to broil the ribs like in the slow cooker recipe: Just season the ribs, blitz the sauce, and cook everything for 45 minutes under high pressure. BOOM! (Note: That was an exclamation of triumph—not the sound of a pressure cooker exploding, because the Instant Pot is super-safe.)
My favorite instant pot
Ingredients
- Bone-in English-style beef short ribs: Don’t go above 5 pounds or it won’t fit in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt: Use half the amount if you’re using a fine grain salt!
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Coconut aminos: Combined with fish sauce, this makes the best slightly sweet soy sauce alternative.
- Red Boat fish sauce
- Rice wine vinegar, white balsamic, or coconut vinegar
- Asian pear, regular pear, or Fuji apple
- Garlic cloves
- Green onions / scallions
- Fresh ginger
- Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro
How to make Instant Pot Korean short ribs
Pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Use your hands to rub the salt and pepper all over the ribs.
Transfer the seasoned ribs to a 6-quart (or larger) pressure cooker.
You may have to play some short rib Tetris to make sure all the meat fits in the pot. Sometimes, I have to cut off the bone from the meat so I can fit the meaty pieces properly (but I still throw the bones on top for added flavor). Ideally, though, everything fits like a puzzle.
Toss the coconut aminos, vinegar, fish sauce…
…pear/apple, garlic, scallions, and ginger in a high-speed blender or food processor…
…and blitz until smooth.
Pour the sauce over the short ribs in the pressure cooker, and stir everything around so the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot.
If the sauce doesn’t reach the bottom of the pot, the ribs might burn and you’ll get an “ovHT” or “BURN” error message on the Instant Pot display. (Got the error message even though the sauce hit the bottom of the pot? Turn off your Instant Pot, and add ¼ cup broth or water. Scrape up any brown bits on the bottom and then, restart the Instant Pot. That should clear the error.)
Shut and lock the lid, turn the valve at the top to “sealing,” and program the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally. If the pressure hasn’t dropped after 25 minutes, release it manually by turning the top valve to the “venting” position. Pop open the lid and check that the ribs are fork-tender. If they’re not, cook ’em for another 5 to 10 minutes under high pressure.
Transfer the ribs to a plate or platter, and taste the liquid for seasoning. Adjust if necessary with additional salt and pepper. Yes, there will be plenty of fat at the top of the liquid, which is totally normal and expected with this cut of meat. If you want, you can skim the fat off the top and then spoon the sauce on top of the ribs.
Garnish with cilantro before serving!
This dish tastes even better the next day, so I recommend making it ahead of time. You can refrigerate it for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. It’s like a yummy, meaty gift to your future self!
After the stew has been refrigerated or frozen, the fat on top will solidify, making it easy to remove if desired. (I’m not fat-phobic, but I prefer to take it off ’cause I don’t like an overly greasy sauce.)
Plus, you can totally reheat the stew in an Instant Pot—simply dump the ribs and sauce back into the Instant Pot and cook under high pressure for 5 minutes. Keep the short ribs warm until you’re ready to serve!
Dig in!
What can you serve with the Korean Short Ribs?
To keep things paleo and Whole30, serve the short ribs with cauliflower rice and some vegetable sides, like Korean Cucumber Salad, Korean Spinach Side Dish (Sigeumchi Namul), Pineapple Coleslaw, Quick Sugar Snap Peas with Basil, Mint, and Lime, or Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.
How to store leftovers?
Store leftover Korean Short Ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Korean-inspired Paleo and Whole30 recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Korean Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef short ribs don’t go above 5 pounds or it won’t fit in a 6-quart pressure cooker
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt use half the amount if you’re using a fine grain salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar white balsamic, or coconut vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 medium pear Asian pear, or Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 scallions roughly chopped
- 1 hunk of fresh ginger about 2 inches, cut into 2 pieces
- Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the salt and pepper all over the ribs.
- Transfer the seasoned ribs to a 6-quart (or larger) pressure cooker, making sure all the ribs fit in the pot.
- Add the coconut aminos, vinegar, fish sauce, pear or apple, garlic, scallions, and ginger in a high-speed blender or food processor. Blitz until smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the short ribs in the pressure cooker, and stir everything around so the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot. If the sauce doesn’t reach the bottom of the pot, the ribs might burn and you’ll get an “ovHT” or “BURN”error message on the Instant Pot display. (Got the error message even though the sauce hit the bottom of the pot? Turn off your Instant Pot, and add ¼ cup broth or water. Scrape up the brown bits on the bottom and then, restart the Instant Pot. That should clear the error.)
- Shut and lock the lid, turn the valve at the top to “sealing,” and program the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 45 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally. If the pressure hasn’t dropped after 25 minutes, release it manually by turning the top valve to the “venting” position. Pop open the lid and check that the ribs are fork-tender. If they’re not, cook ’em for another 5 to 10 minutes under high pressure.
- Transfer the ribs to a plate or platter, and taste the liquid for seasoning. Adjust if necessary with additional salt and pepper. If desired, skim the fat off the top.
- Spoon the sauce on top of the ribs, and garnish with cilantro before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yaaas this recipe is one of my favorites, and now that it’s adapted for the Instant Pot I can enjoy it on weeknights as well!
Do you have a slow cooker version?
Yep! Right here: https://nomnompaleo.com/post/3762844557/slow-cooker-korean-grass-fed-short-ribs
How long to cook if using slow cooker? 8 hours on low? Thanks!
Click on the link for my Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs recipe and you’ll get the step-by-step instructions.
Is there a way I can use a different meat in this? Ribs have been hard to come by where I live. Thanks!
You could probably use boneless short ribs and decrease the cook time.
Can you please share where you get your ribs in SF? Tried some from wholefoods last week and they were extremely fatty (I know short ribs in general are on the fattier side but the pictures above look a lot leaner).
I order grass fed short ribs through Good Eggs ( https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/home) and Belcampo Meat Co.
This is so going down in my house this week. I need to dust off my Instant Pot (I’ve had it for years now, ever since your first IP recipes) and I’ve neglected it. I can’t wait to make these!
Would you still cook for 45 minutes if you’re only making this 1.5lbs of ribs?
Short ribs still take about 45 minutes to get tender, even if the amount is less. If you’re going to cook it for the same amount, you might as well use more short ribs and get more leftovers!
HI this looks wonderful – but I do not have a pressure cooker – is there a way to create the same dish but using a slow cooker or even in the oven?
Thanks for your help
Yep! Click on the link for Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs in the description.
If you’re in Honolulu, you can have my Macy’s pressure cooker for free.
Oh my gosh your comment after “Boom!” had me laughing so hard! I can’t wait to try this in my Instant Pot. I’m already a huge fan of your slow cooker version!! Yum:)
Wowzer, yummy but $$$! Grass fed short ribs off Good eggs range from $9 to $12 per lb. So, you’re looking at $45 to $60 for meat alone for this recipe, a lot of which is fat you may or may not eat and bone, which you prolly won’t eat either. A new paradigm for online recipe posting – post the total per person cost right up front, along with “# served”.
Short ribs are worth the cost. I cut out the bones and boil for couple hours with onion, garlic and ginger to make a delicious broth. Add your favorite veggies and you have a wonderful soup. Cost $1-2:00 per person so stretches your dollar. 1/4# – 1/3# ribs per person will be enough meat for most people. Cost should come out to about $5.00 per person; fairly inexpensive for a delicious meal. BTW, I love my Instant Pot and all its features! I am one happy cook! Wish I heard about it early on. Now what to do with my expensive Macy’s stainless steel pressure cooker?
Well, if you read the recipe, it says serves six. And it calls for 5 pounds of meat, so that’s more like 0.8 lbs of meat per person, or ballpark, $10 in meat person. I have a lot of experience in eating beef short ribs, and no way is a quarter pound per person realistic. They’re kind of like popcorn. They’re so good you don’t really want to stop.
Would love to try this today but my short ribs are frozen. Have you tried pressure cooking w/frozen meat? Curious if it would work.
The only time I cook with frozen meat is if it’s already cooked and I’m reheating it, or I’m throwing frozen bones in stock/broth and cooking it for 60-90 minutes under high pressure. Here’s a good guide to cooking from frozen: https://www.hippressurecooking.com/how-to-pressure-cook-frozen-meat/
Is there any reason why this wouldn’t work with another cut of beef that is suitable for stewing, without bones? Thanks.
Cubed chuck roast will work!
Thanks!
My grocery store only had boneless short ribs..should I decrease the cooking time?
Try 40 min.
Did you try this with the boneless short ribs? I was hoping to make this and wanted to see how it turned out.