Korean food delights: Part 2 삼겹살

Practically everyone in Korea has tried eating galbi (thin cuts of marinated meat which is then barbecued) at least once, but a similar dish here is considered by many people to be almost as good. Samgyeopsal or 삼겹살 is thick fatty pork slices which you cook alongside some vegetables just as you would galbi. This meal is similar but different to bacon. Similar to bacon found in North America but different from the bacon more popular in the UK. Samgyeopsal translates to three layers of meat (visible before and after cooking). It has taken me quite a long time to acquire a taste for this but recently my girlfriend and I stopped by a local restaurant to try and the experience was much better than the other times I'd tried it.

First you place the meat onto the hot plate where you barbecue it with some vegetables. As you can see there is a lot of fat on the meat, which on one hand adds some flavour but on the other makes it a little too greasy for some people.

Here you have a slice of it nearly ready to eat. You have to cook this a little longer than galbi.

A view of what you see on the hot plate. Here there is 삼겹살, mushrooms, kimchi, potatoes and garlic all cooking.

After the meat has cooked you can either just eat it, or as most people do you can wrap it up in lettuce leaves with other vegetables then eat it. Here I have some spicy sauce which compliments the meat, and some mushroom and garlic too.

This really is the best way to eat it but it's a little messy at times.

As per usual there are many side dishes with your meal. Koreans love side dishes. Me, I don't usually care for them but as always you are given a selection with whatever you order and wherever you go.

Proof that I am in Korea.


So the meal is over and the restaurant is about to close with the staff eating their meal before going home. As you can perhaps see, the place I went to here is bigger than most restaurants in Korea. thankfully here you can sit down to enjoy your meal unlike some places. While this is not my favourite Korean meal by a long way, it is a very popular one here and there are many places where you can go and eat this.