Your Location:
HiExpat.com 
Blogs Ordering Food From a Kor...
Blogs Ordering Food From a Kor...
Its the one you've been waiting for--identifying, evaluating, ordering and wolfing down Korean barbecue!
Let's get something straight before I begin: Korean BBQ isn't food.
Its an experience.
The difference between Korean barbecue and the field is the difference between getting the DVD or watching it on 3D IMAX. I don't care what your alternative meal is. If its not accompanied by the smokey scent of sizzling fresh cuts of meat; the sight of the owner sliding a bucket of white hot coals under the table's center grill; at least six side dishes to keep you company; the comforting, clicking sound of the sparkling, stainless steel pan being locked down; and the golden, cold beer in your glass, clinking against your friend's cup, while you squirm in your seat every few seconds, asking the server over and over again: "ain't it done, yet?", then you're just eating in black and white.
Photo: Samkyeopsal
Grilled & BBQ'd Meats -- The Basics
Meats
| Hangul | English Phonetics | Description |
| 구이 | gui | Roasted (look for it preceding any of the below meats) |
|
바베큐
|
bahbaecue | Barbecue (just a phonetic pronunciation in Korean). |
| 고기 | kogi | Meat |
| 소고기 | seo kogi | Beef |
| 닭고기 | dalk kogi | Chicken |
| 돼지고기 | twaeji kogi | Pork |
| 양고기 | yang kogi | Lamb |
| 스테이크 | soo-tae-kuh | Steak (phonetic pronunciation in Korean) |
| 다 됐어요 | tah dwaesoyo? |
"Is it ready?" Probably the most important phrase to know when staring at that slowly roasting meat! |
Accompaniments
| Hangul | English Phonetics | Description |
| 상추 | sangchu | Lettuce (used like a tortilla to make a "meat taco." Optional: add in garlic, ssamjang, gochu and kaenip.) |
| 마늘 | manool | Garlic (roasted on the grill or eaten raw) |
| 고추 | gochu | Spicy green pepper, a Korean jalapeño (often served sliced up, can be eaten with the meat) |
| 쌈장 | ssam chang | A spicy sweet red paste soybeans, hot pepper, sesame oil, garlic and onion (can also be used for meat dipping sauce) |
| 깻잎 | kaetnip | sesame leaf, also known as shiso, (can be used with sangchu or as its own wrapping.) |
| 매운소스 | maeun sausu | Spicy red sauce made from gochu, used as a dipping sauce for various meats, esp. roast chicken |
|
참기름
|
cham kilum | Light sesame oil, also used for dipping sauce, usually served with a bit of pepper and salt mixed in. Very addictive so go easy. |
Photo: dalk-kalbi
Grilled & BBQ'd Meats -- The Tempting
| Hangul | English Phonetics | Description |
| 갈비/소갈비 | kalbi/seo kalbi | Marinated beef ribs and extremely popular among Expats and locals. They run a bit expensive, but you can't beat the succulent, roasted flavor of those ribs. The best meat is served last, around the bone: crisp on the outside, sweet and juicy on the inside. Get it before your boss takes the last one! |
| 갈비살 | kalbi-sal | Boneless beef ribs, without the marinade. Tender little pieces and delicious because you get to decide what sort of sauce you want with it (ssamjang, cham kilum, gochujang, etc.) |
| 불고기 | bulkogi | The Granddaddy. If you have never had bulkogi, turn off your computer, go outside, turn left, walk about 50 meters and you'll see a 고기집 (meat restaurant) on your left. Walk in, ask for "bulkogi il een bun ju saeyo" (One serving of bulkogi). Enjoy & repeat. |
| 닭갈비 | dalk-kalbi | A fun, spicy barbecue dish that is much better eaten with 2+. Take some boneless chicken, drop it in a pan so big it covers the entire table, add sliced carrots, yams, white & green onion, ddok (rice cake; we'll get to it later) and a big scoop of gochujang. Let the server mix it together, & relax and let it grill away whilst you laugh to yourself at the very reasonable price and the strange expression on your face in the reflection of the shot of soju you are staring into. |
| 삼겹살 | samkyop sal | Unsalted pork served pink and thick! The first time I came to Korea, I cluelessly managed to get a plate of this stuff in a small Mom & Pop shop in Kwangju. No idea what it was, but man, a mountain of meat served with salted oil and some red sauce looked pretty good to me. When I returned to Seoul and asked my Korean teacher what 2 servings worth of beef had I eaten, her eyes about popped out of her head and she laughed: "FudeDude, you idiot, you just ate two kilos of bacon!!" So much better than bacon... |
| 차돌박이 | chadeol baeki | Super thin slices of brisket, usually well-marbled and presented to the table uncooked, sometimes frozen, and tightly curled. Layer the meat up on the pyramid shaped pan in front of you to watch the excess oil run off. Cooks quick, so I like to get it as my first dish to get the ball up and running when hungry. Usually served with cham kilum dipping sauce. You'll be tempted to tear off the pieces of thin pieces of fat from the meat, but eating both meat and fat together adds to the taste, so don't. Give em a second to defrost and then start slinging 'em on the grill in front of you. |
| 돼지불고기 | twaeji bulkogi | Take cuts of pork, slather them with a red hot spicy sauce, grill them up in front of your widening eyes with onion and hot pepper and a sprinkling of sesame seeds--wipe your chin. Its good but its also damn spicy. |
| 안심 | ahn shim | Tenderloin beef. Very good and somewhat expensive. I like to grill up the kimchi next to it and then eat it together with both this and samkyeopsal to add a little bit more flavor to the bite. |
| 등심 | deung-shim | Sirloin and tasty. Not cheap, so check who's paying before suggesting it. The intro to this dish also came from my first Korean boss. He was the guy who strove to lecture the owners of small restaurants on food ("you should use more green pepper in this to make it really sell") with his ostensibly vast knowledge about dining & cuisine. Having never worked in/owned a restaurant, farm, grocery store or ddokbokki stand, it was fairly hard to take him seriously. |
| 꽃등심 | koet deung-shim | Literally, "Flower Sirloin," loosely translated "prime" sirloin. The "flower" here refers to the marbling on the meat. |
| 채끝 | chae keut | Strip/New York cut |
| 사태 | satae | Shank |
| 양지 | yangji | Brisket (be careful not to confuse this one with lamb) |
| 앞다리 | ahpdali | Foreleg (shank) |
Photo: chadeol baeki
Close Contenders (These two aren't grilled/barbecued, but it'd be a shame to leave them off)
| Hangul | English Phonetics | Description |
| 쌈밥 | ssambap | Basically means "wrapped rice," but I love it because it comes usually with around 10 different types of lettuce and greens to wrap the meat in. I order it with bulkogi, which is served grilling away in a bowl with carrots, onions, peppers over a small serving of glass noodles. Good to go with a vegetarian who just wants to snack on salad and the tofu! |
| 보쌈 | bossam | My favorite lunch--pieces of steamed pork, served with fresh, crisp kimchi, plenty of lettuce, a salty, fermented shrimp sauce and spicy raw oysters. |
Photo: Ssambap sides in their glory
Grilled & BBQ'd Meats -- The Adventurous
| Hangul | English Phonetics | Description |
| 곱창 | kopchang | Grilled intestines. When I went back to the States for a bit, I saw kopjang on the menu of a Korean restaurant. The fact that kopjang means intestine eluded me, but it looked good on paper so I ordered it. When it arrived, my family looked at the "Korea Expert" in their midst and promptly decided that I was going to eat the entire yard of kopjang by myself. Grilled over an open flame on a crisscross grill, when done right, its slightly chewy, and served with a variety of greens and my favorite cham kilum sauce for dipping. Great for a late night snack (not truly recommended for a main course, take it from me). |
| 막창 | makchang | Grilled cow or pork stomach. Sorry, I haven't had it. I hear its similar to kopchang in terms of texture, consistency and taste. Grilled up with garlic, green onion and gochu; served with cham kilum or twaenjang sauce its on the top of my list of "gotta hit it soon grub." |
| 목심 | mok shim | Cow neck meat--actually not that adventurous, as beef is pretty much beef unless I'm eating a filet. |
Photo: kopchang
Grilled & BBQ'd Meats -- An Aside
In case you were wondering, all restaurants in Korea are required to identify the country of orgin of the food on their menus. Keep your eyes peeled for Korean (국내산), American (미국), Australian for beer mate (호주산), and Canadian (카나다).
Stay tuned til next week: Fish & Seafood!
| Share this page |
|
Korea Blog - HiExpat.com |
