Korean Barbecue: Samgyupsal with Kimchi

One of the unique experiences you can get in Korea is to grill your own meat in a restaurant. Many restaurants in Korea have grills at the tables, and customers cook their meat exactly the way they like. Samgyupsal is probably the most popular type of meat for Korean barbecue. It is made from pork belly strips, the same part Americans use for bacon. Samgyupsal is inexpensive and delicious. Samgyupsal has always been one of J.J’s favorite Korean foods.

When you go to a Samgyupsal restaurant, you don’t need to wait to be seated. Just go sit at any table available. Servers will bring you a menu and water. To order Samgyupsal, you should get at least two or three servings. It will cost less than 30,000 won (around 30 US dollar). Samgyupsal will be served with a dipping sauce called Ssamjang (paste). It also usually comes with a side of sliced garlic and peppers, onions, mushrooms and lettuce. Then it’s barbecue time!


You can cook anything on the grill with the Samgyupsal. When we barbecue, we also grill garlic, mushrooms, onions and Kimchi along with the Samgyupsal. Even if you don’t really like the taste or smell of raw Kimchi, try grilled Kimchi with Samgyupsal. Kimchi tastes strong, but when it’s grilled until it turns yellow it becomes much milder. The subtle spice of grilled Kimchi goes very well with the flavor of Samgyupsal. That’s how J.J. started enjoying Kimchi and our American family and friends also like it. Also, Kimchi is healthy because it’s a fermented vegetable made with a lot of garlic.

As you probably know, pork should always be thoroughly cooked. When the Samgyupsal gets close to being cooked, cut it into bite size pieces using the scissors provided at the table. Wait until the Samgyupsal is well done and the Kimchi becomes caramelized. Then, grab a piece of lettuce and put it in your palm. Yes, you have to use your hand. So, clean your hands with the hot towel that you’ll be given at the restaurant. Put a couple pieces of Samgyupsal into the lettuce, and then get some of the sauce using your chopsticks and put it on your Samgyupsal. You can also add Kimchi, garlic, pepper and/or onions if you like. Wrap it just like you would do with soft-shell tacos and enjoy!



If you want more side dishes such as lettuce and Kimchi, ask for more. No extra charge will be added. There’s another thing that you need to know before you go to a Korean restaurant. Servers usually won’t check on your table after the food is served. Instead, you call them whenever you need something. Many restaurants in Korea have a bell on each table. When you need a server, just push the button. A server will come to your table shortly. If there’s no bell, raise your hand and say “Yoe-Gi-Yo” at a volume that you think a server can hear. The phrase means “here”, implying that something is needed.

About the time you are done eating, a server will bring you Doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and a bowl of rice. Or, you might be given the choice between Doenjang jjigae and Naengmyun (cold buckwheat noodles). We usually get Doenjang jjigae, which is a popular traditional dish. It’s good to try it if you are visiting Korea. But if you’re too full, Naengmyun may be better. When you are finished you pay the bill at the counter. No tip is expected, but they will appreciate it if you say “Ma-shi-so-yo”(delicious) and “Gam-sa-ham-ni-da”(Thank you).

Take a look at our Samgyupsal video!

Survival Guide for Traveling in Korea

Taking a trip to a foreign country is exciting and challenging at the same time. We would like to give you some ideas or tips about Korea so that you feel less nervous. Above all, most Koreans are nice and speak at least some English. If you ask for help, they will speak to you in English. Koreans don’t expect foreigners to speak Korean, but if you try to use some Korean they will really appreciate your effort. So, it is a good idea to learn some very basic phrases before going to Korea.
▶ Hello = An-Nyung-Ha-Se-Yo
▶ Thank you = Gam-Sa-Ham-Ni-Da

Of course, eating is one of the first things you need to deal with. Many restaurants in Korea are open until late at night. Especially if you stay in big cities, you can find many restaurants open after midnight. Some Kimbop restaurants are open 24/7. They serve Kimbap and other kinds of Korean food. Many Chinese restaurants are open and deliver 24/7. We used to get Japchae (noodles with stir-fried veggies) and Tang-Soo-Yook (sweet and sour pork) delivered from a Chinese restaurant after 11 p.m. The delivery usually takes less than 20 minutes. No delivery charge or tip is expected.

Food will be delivered in actual dishes, not in disposable ones. The delivery person will come back within a few hours to take the dishes back. If you don’t finish your meal, it is okay to ask them to come back later. You don’t need to wash the dishes. Just put them outside your door. Of course, it will be nice of you to wash the dishes for them. Using actual dishes for delivery is to protect the environment. To throw away garbage, Koreans need to buy certain garbage bags from a store. It is a way to reduce the amount of garbage by making people pay for what they waste and encouraging them to recycle more.

A problem you may encounter is finding a public restroom. There aren’t many public restrooms in Korea. Of course, all restaurants and subway stations have restrooms. Also, if you are in emergency, find a bank or a hospital because they have their restrooms open. Some restrooms don’t have toilet paper. So it’s safe to carry a packet of tissue. Some restrooms have toilet paper, but not in the individual stalls.

Most bathrooms in Korea have drains on the floor of the bathroom – whether at home or in hotels. So it is no problem using water outside the bathtub. You don’t need to look for a shower curtain. Feel free to use the entire bathroom as if it is your shower.

For lodging, some hotels provide free shampoo and rinse, but some don’t. If they don’t, they usually have them in your room for purchase. To save money, carry a portable set of your own. J.J. often feels hot in Korean hotels. If you do, then ask for a fan. Most likely they’ll bring it to your room right away with no charge.

Our Recommendations for Eating in Korea

Many of you who have visited our blog are interested in visiting Korea. Traveling in foreign countries is a lot of fun. We also love traveling. J.J. has been to Korea, China, the Philippines, England, the Netherlands, France and Australia. Gina also has been to China and of course the United States. Also, we took a trip to Japan, Thailand and Canada together. We went to Thailand for our honeymoon.

Wherever you go, one of the first choices you need to make is what to eat. Many people end up going for their national food or at least familiar food. That’s not because they don’t want to try local food, but often they don’t know how to order and what to order when visiting a foreign country. The same thing happened to us. When J.J. first got to Korea in 2002 as an ESL teacher, he went to American fast food restaurants. When Gina first got to the States, she just ate pizzas for a month!

There are a lot of western restaurants in Korea, including Bennigan's, Burger King, KFC, McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse, Popeyes, T.G.I. Friday’s and Tony Roma’s. Especially in Seoul, you can probably find your national food, regardless of where you’re from. However, non-Korean dishes are of course much more expensive than Korean dishes. You can have a good Korean meal for only 5,000 won (about 5 US dollar), but steaks are 4~5 times more expensive. If you are in Korea, try Korean food. Trying unfamiliar local food is a fun thing to do during a trip.

We would recommend Bulgogi, marinated barbecued beef. It’s a favorite Korean dish among foreigners so it will be a safe choice. Or if you are vegetarian, Bibimbop is good. It is rice mixed with an egg and assorted vegetables. You add as much pepper paste as you like. Bibimbop is Gina’s favorite. She loves the flavor of Bibimbop created by a nice combination of fresh veggies and spice.



Kimbap is another good choice. You can find Kimbap everywhere in Korea. You can buy Kimbap even from convenience stores like Seven Eleven and GS24. It looks like Sushi, but doesn’t use raw fish. Instead, it uses eggs, crab meat, ham, spinach, and pickled radish. Ingredients can be varied. Kimbap just means rice wrapped in seaweed. Our favorite kind of Kimbap is tuna Kimbap.

Ordering food can be stressful in a foreign country, but it’s not that difficult in Korea. Just remember this simple phrase, “Ju-se-yo”. This will be extremely useful. It basically means “Please give me ~”. If you want Bibimbap, just say, “Bibimbap Juseyo” (= I’ll take Kimbap). After you make your choice of food, there will be no further questions. You don’t need to tip in Korean restaurants or anywhere in Korea. Tipping is not a Korean custom. If you want to express your appreciation of something, say “Gam-sa-ham-ni-da” (Thank you). That will be enough.

Our Korean/American Fusion Lifestyle

We’re a Korean/American couple, Gina and J.J. Let us briefly introduce ourselves. Gina is Korean and works as a translator and writer. J.J. is American and works as a professor of Communication. We met in a graduate school in 2004 and fell in love. Two years later we got married! We appreciate each other’s culture and integrate both cultural elements into our daily life. Food is a crucial part of our fusion lifestyle.

Although J.J. is American, he loves Kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage. Raw Kimchi smells strong, which sometimes turns off some foreigners. However, we discovered that sautéed Kimchi smells much milder and surprisingly tastes a bit cheesy. Since this discovery, we use sautéed Kimchi as a spice in most of our dishes. We have made Kimchi fusion tacos, Kimchi fusion BBQ burgers, Kimchi fusion tuna sandwiches, Kimchi fusion pasta and Kimchi fusion pizzas.

Our favorite among these is the Kimchi fusion taco. We introduced this special taco to our American and Korean families and friends. They all love the tacos. We would like to share our recipe with you. Fusion Korean food will prepare you to enjoy other authentic Korean dishes, such as Kimchi jjigae (Kimchi Stew) and Doenjang jjigae (Soybean Paste Stew). J.J. loves Doenjang jjigae.
▲ How to make Kimchi Fusion Tacos

▲ How to make Kimchi Fusion Barbecue Burgers