These Korean-Inspired Instant Pot Short Ribs are made with the most flavourful marinade. Serve them as lettuce wraps with sesame slaw!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sesame oil – grapeseed oil, canola oil or sunflower oil can be used instead.
- Korean-style short ribs – flank steak or chuck steak would work but the cooking times may vary.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Pear nectar – use any other fruit nectar like peach nectar, apricot nectar or white grape juice.
- Mirin – beef broth can be used in place of mirin if you’re unable to find any.
- Gochujang – sriracha is the next best thing to gochujang.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Ginger – if you don’t have any fresh ginger, use a bit of ground ginger powder instead.
To serve
- Boston leaf lettuce – swap out for another leafy green like romaine, iceberg, butter lettuce or collard greens.
- Kimchi – use a store-bought kimchi or leave this out altogether.
- Sesame slaw – pickled carrots or cucumbers can be used instead, but I highly recommend the sesame slaw!
- Green onions – leave these off if you don’t have any on hand.
- Sesame seeds – white or black sesame seeds would both be good or you can leave these off.
Sesame slaw
- Green cabbage – Napa cabbage, red cabbage or another variety can be used.
- Carrot – replace with julienned bell peppers, cucumbers or zucchini.
- Rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar can be used in place of rice vinegar.
- Brown sugar – honey, maple syrup or agave are the best substitutes here.
- Sesame oil – see substitution notes above.
- Soy sauce – see substitution notes above.
- Salt – to taste.
How to cook short ribs in the Instant Pot
- Sauté the short ribs.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Make the sesame slaw.
- Broil the short ribs.
- Prep your toppings.
- Serve in lettuce wraps and enjoy!
Turning the short ribs into lettuce wraps
Short ribs are such a delicious and versatile meal! There are so many ways to serve and enjoy short ribs, including turning them into lettuce wraps. To serve your short ribs as lettuce wraps, follow the instructions below:
- Cook the short ribs.
- While the short ribs are cooking, prepare the sesame slaw, Boston leaf lettuce and other toppings.
- Once the short ribs have finished broiling, create a bed of sesame slaw on the Boston lettuce leaf.
- Add the short rib and kimchi over top of the slaw.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
- Serve and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Korean-style short ribs are typically cut lengthwise across the rib so they have a thin strip of meat lined on one side with thick bone. In comparison, American-style short ribs are a thicker slice of bone-in beef.
Korean short ribs are typically made of beef.
Korean short ribs are a delicious and versatile dish that can be served on their own or as lettuce wraps. You could also try serving them with cucumber kimchi salad and jasmine rice, sautéed mushrooms, bitter greens, bok choy, kimchi soup and more.
Short ribs are delicious but since they’re a thin cut of meat, they do tend to be tougher when cooked for a long period of time. The best way to combat tough short ribs is to boil them prior to cooking. Bring the water to a boil and then let the short ribs simmer for up to 45 minutes. After this, you’re ready to cook!
Storing and reheating
This dish is so good that I doubt there will be any leftovers! If there happens to be any leftovers or you’re prepping your meals for the next day, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure to store the slaw, lettuce and short ribs separately to avoid soggy lettuce.
When you’re ready to eat, reheat the short ribs in a pan on the stovetop, in the microwave or in the Instant Pot using the sauté function. Sprinkle water over top before reheating to prevent the meat from drying out. Serve with fresh lettuce wraps and your favourite toppings and dig in.
Freezing this recipe
These short ribs are definitely freezer-friendly! Cook everything as instructed and then allow the ribs to cool to room temperature. After cooling, transfer the ribs to freezer-safe Ziploc bags or airtight meal prep containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Let the short ribs defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal. You could also reheat the ribs straight from frozen in the microwave for 7 to 8 minutes.
More Asian-inspired Instant Pot recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning these short ribs into a weekly lunch.
- I get all my beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders to marinate the beef with ease.
- Freeze the short ribs in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Korean-Inspired Instant Pot Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 lbs Korean-style short ribs
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup pear nectar
- 2 tbsp mirin optional – can replace with beef broth
- 1 tbsp gochujang or sriracha
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
To serve
- 1 head Boston leaf lettuce
- Kimchi
- Sesame slaw
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
Sesame slaw
- 2 cups green cabbage chopped
- 1 carrot julienned or grated
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce to serve
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode and wait for it to heat up. Once hot, add sesame oil and short ribs, seasoning with salt & pepper and sauteeing in batches for 3-4 minutes until browned.
- Turn off saute mode, then add soy sauce, pear nectar, mirin, gochujang/sriracha, garlic and ginger.
- Place lid on Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, then let the Instant Pot do a natural pressure release (should take about 10 minutes).
- Meanwhile, mix ingredients together under the sesame slaw heading and prepare lettuce for lettuce wraps. Preheat oven to broil over high heat.
- Remove lid once pressure has released, then remove short ribs and add to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Broil short ribs for 1-2 minutes until they develop a nice char, then serve over lettuce wraps with sesame slaw, green onions, kimchi and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
