I was having spicy seasoned pork the other day for dinner, but strangely I had a huge craving for Samgyeopsal BBQ (삼겹살 구이). What is this? Am I becoming like a hobbit? Do you have a similar experience like this? I was quite satisfied with the meal I was having, but some parts of my stomach obviously weren’t satisfied. So the next day, I bought some Samgyeopsal meat to meet the requirement of my tummy.
This time I just bought 800g of the meat for 4 people (last time I bought 1.4 kg) I wished I had bought more meat, but it is better to eat less than get sick later, right?
There aren’t many things you need to prepare to enjoy Samgyeopsal BBQ and below are what I prepared for our dinner.
What I baked with
You can bake pretty much anything you want. These are pictures of what I baked on the grill with Samgyeopsal. (Green chili, Sliced garlic, Enoki mushrooms, Kimchi)
I personally think they are the must have items to enjoy Samgyeopsal BBQ properly. Especially, golden crispy baked mushrooms taste super ultra best. 
Some restaurants serve tofu, bean sprouts, or onions to bake as well.
What I wrapped with
Some lettuce, Perilla leaves (known as sesame leaves, ggaennip), Thin sliced pickled white radish
I haven’t made pickled white radish myself yet but I am going to make it in the future. In the meantime, it is available at the supermarket in Korea. Hopefully you can find them where you live too. Pickled white radish has a slightly sweet and sour taste. So it gives an extra flavour to the wrap when you eat them together.
What else I enjoyed with it
Seasoned garlic chives (부추 무침 - recipe will follow near the end of this post, though it wasn’t as good as I hoped. I need to develop it more), Ssamjang (dipping sauce for lettuce), Cucumber
Seasoned garlic chives are a small companion for the meat. When you eat the meat, it gives a nice flavour, supposedly sweet and sour taste plus onion fragrance. Most Korean restaurants serve thinly sliced spring onions instead of the garlic chives, but I thought it is easier to deal with the garlic chives than thin slicing spring onions, since I don’t have the proper equipment.
What I did before I start baking
My sister thinks that it is important to spread some oil by rubbing one piece of pork on the grill before you add the rest of the meat. That way the meat doesn’t stick to the plate.
Seasoned Garlic Chives
- Ingredients for 4 servings
- Garlic chives - one fistful
- 1/2 a small onion
Sauce (mix these in a bowl)
- Soy sauce - 1 tsp
- Refined rice wine - 1 tsp
- Anchovy sauce - 1/2 tsp
- Dark brown sugar - 1/2 tsp
- Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
- Apple vinegar - 1/2 tsp
- Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
- Minced garlic - 1/4 tsp
- Parched sesame - 1/4 tsp
-Steps
- Rinse the garlic chives in cold water.
- Divide them into 3 portions and thin slice the onion.
- Put the garlic chives and onion into a big bowl.
- Just before you serve it add the sauce and mix them well. If you mix them too earlier the garlic chives go soggy.
- Serve it on the plate.
As I said earlier, seasoned garlic chives wasn’t as good as I hoped. I think I had more garlic chives than the sauce, relatively, so I need to make more sauce next time to give it the proper taste.
Related Posts
Pork Belly (Samgyeopsal in Korean) Party
Garlic Chives and Baked Garlic Salad
Vegetables Wrapped with Pickled Radish (Mussammari in Korean)
Korean cuisine, Korean Food, Pork Belly, Red Meat, Samgyeopsal
I’ve seen this on Japanese programs, it is predicted to be the next trendy food in Japan. Hopefully I’ll get to try this sometime.
In NYC, the korean restaurant I go to that specializes in pork belly bbq (Ham Ji Bak) serves the white radish with a mustard powder and a simple dipping sauce of sesame oil, coarse salt & black pepper to eat with the pork. Yummy!!
Malaysian Chinese use Pork Belly to cook this very savory soup…with gingko nuts…it’s a celebration dish too. By the way, I love your new template…it’s clean, professional, and nice! I also love your pictures…do you use a DSLR?
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, your leeks are so finely chopped they look like chives!
Kat, It would be great if it is going to be the next trendy food. Though it is close to common food rather than trendy fancy food in Korea.
Jennifer, that sounds great too. I should do that next time I have this.
Rasa Malaysia, I don’t know about the professional look of my new template, though thanks anyway.
I use a Canon DSRL, but I am still learning how to deal with it.
Tellos, I love it too. It is very addictive food indeed.
Sandra, These are very thin leeks already, so it is very easy to chop.
Do hobbits eat pork belly? LOL!
I don’t know. My point was that I think about food a lot, first breakfast and second breakfast…..
Hey Sue - those actually aren’t known as leeks in the western world, but go by the name of chinese chives/garlic chives (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_chives). These are smaller, flat blades as opposed to the leek which is much, much larger bundle of leaves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leek). I know the translation from Korean to English is a bit difficult, I often argue with my mom about the translations as sometimes even the korean to english (and vice versa) dictionary isn’t 100% accurate
Thanks for the information Ellie,
I have to rely on a dictionary a lot since I don’t have much experience with western grocery shopping. I am learning from you and other readers as well.
You guys have sharp eyes in spotting my mistake or ignorance.
OOOO - I loved pickled white radish - I can’t get it premade here in Italy. I’m anxiously waiting for your recipe!
Sue - I love your recipes, they make me miss living in Korea and Korean food. One thing I brought back from Korea with me was a thick stone pot, maybe it’s “dol sot?”
I have been trying to make the puffy steamed egg that you often get in ssamgyupsal restaurants at the same time as the chigae. Do you know what I mean? I never learned the name, we always just asked for “gae-ran chigae” and the ajuma laughed and knew what I meant.
So, I bought one of the bowls at Emart to bring home fomr Korea with me and can’t get it right. One of my Korean friends told me to just put a small amount of water in the bottom of the pot, then pour in a mixture of beaten eggs with my leeks, onions and carrots, a bit of salt and then put it on the gas burner. But, if never turns out!
I came to your website looking for advice to make it but can’t find this recipe anywhere. Do you know the best way to make this dish?
Thank you so much and I hope you are loving Australia!
I think I know what you are describing. Though none of Samgyeopsal restaurants I have been to seem to serve it for free. I think it is called “Gyeran Jjim”, which means steamed egg.
I sort of made it once, but forgot to add some water, so it turned out quite solid. You can see how it turned out from the link below (the picture is near the end).
http://mykoreankitchen.com/2006/11/21/spicy-mussel-stew-honghap-jjim-in-korean/
I didn’t post a recipe yet, but maybe some other time. I am pretty occupied with organizing my house at the moment, after moving.
Lately, I’ve been on a Samgyeopsal binge–I can’t stop enjoying the taste of seared bacon cuts. What could be better? I’ve yet to try it at home though. I must say again you take amazing pictures of food.
I’m glad I found this - have been having a craving for Samgyeopsal and planned to have it during the weekend but didn’t know the side ingredients to prepare, so this was really useful. Thanks Sue!