***** I'm sure you already know that Zion Market has moved
After sharing a Kalbi recipe on Elmo's Site – Monster Munching, I became motivated and decided to do a batch of ribs for myself. So this entailed a trip to Zion Market:
Zion Market is a huge Korean Grocer
with a wonderful selection of produce, meat, and various Korean grocery items. Today I picked up some very fragrant Donut Peaches at $1.49/lb. I also picked up some other miscellaneous grocery items, that I'll go into later. There is also 
a large selection of pan-chan – I call it the "Great Wall of Kimchee" as well as marinated meats. The quality and selection in the meat department can be mind boggling; for example, 3 "grades" of cross sliced short ribs and 4 grades of sliced rib eye. Maybe someone can explain the difference between 'A', 'B' and '10 up' sliced rib eye – some cuts look thinner and some are more marbled. The prices are also very reasonable $2.59/lb for short ribs is a bargain!
There is also a small "food court" and a fresh seafood counter, and a bakery within the Marketplace.
Zion Marketplace
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111
Between Engineer Rd and Dagget St
When I got home I started on the Kalbi.
2-3lbs Short Ribs
2/3c Soy sauce
1 c Water
1/2c Sugar
2 Tb grated, pureed or minced garlic
2 Tb grated, pureed or minced onion
2 Tb pureed ripe papaya or Asian pear
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large stalk green onion chopped
1 Tb sesame oil (optional)
I added a few twists
– There were no ripe papaya's, and the Asian Pears looked horrible – so I decided to use kiwi. Now I had heard that marinating with kiwi can be a bit dicey as it has a tendency to over-tenderize the meat, but I thought I'd give it a try. So scratch the papaya or Asian pear, and replace with 2TB pureed kiwi. I had also heard that Malt Syrup gave kalbi a nice distinctive sweet flavor and gave kalbi a lacquered appearance, so I found and purchased a bottle. The Malt Syrup is amber in color, and tastes basically just like corn syrup. I replaced 1/2cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of malt syrup and 1/4 cup of sugar. I mixed the marinade, added the meat, and went to sleep. We'll see what happens tomorrow when I fire up the grill.