The more I try the typical South Korean cuisine the more I fall in love with its dishes full of intense flavors. The Korean food has been perfected over time, coming to offer today succulent dishes that have become well known in the rest of the world, especially in Asia.
One of the most famous and popular dishes, both in the country and outside, is the samgyeopsal 삼겹살, delicious barbecue pork belly.
Wherever you go around Seoul you will find a restaurant full of people who are eating the samgyeopsal, which can be translated as “three-layer meat”, drinking soju (the country’s famous alcoholic beverage), maekju (beer) or somaek which is a mix of the two drinks.
You will sit at a table with a grill set in the center which, when ordered, will be heated with gas or charcoal scattered in the central oven. The served samgyeopsal is usually cooked by the restaurant staff, but it can also be cooked by yourself. A thick and fatty slice of pork, generally not marinated nor seasoned, is cut into smaller slices that are then distributed on the hot barbecue, spinned from time to time until reach the right time to be eaten, straight from the grill!
The main course is accompanied by several small plates containing side dishes to be eaten with the slices of grilled samgyeopsal: kimchi (famous Korean cuisine side dish), mushrooms, garlic cloves, pickled onion, green chilli, lettuce and sesame leaves and sauces such as the delicious ssamjang made with soy and chili and the gireumjang made with sesame oil with salt and pepper. The vegetables are often grilled with the meat.
How to eat the samgyeopsal: the pork slices are eaten directly from the grill, you can dip them in the ssamjang or gireumjang sauces, but the best way to taste the succulent piece of meat is to roll it together with garlic, kimchi and onion in the sesame or lettuce leaf, creating a tidbit to be tried still hot!
Advice about when you eat the samgyeopsal: it’s grilled meat, so the smells and the smoke that are released can be quite intense, although every table is equipped with suction hood I recommend you put jackets, backpacks and bags inside the plastic containers that the various restaurants (usually) offer you for free.
The samgyeopsal is a great dish for dinner, an opportunity to experience Korean cuisine trying this delicacy with friends in a fun atmosphere, a taste that is good for everyone who like eating meat!
