Samgyupsal (Korean BBQ pork Belly)
Make Korean BBQ at home with this Samgyupsal recipe guide. Enjoy succulent pork belly wrapped in veggies and homemade dipping sauce for a happy meal.
Equipment
- Korean tabletop grill optional
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) pork belly fresh and sliced
- 8-12 cloves garlic
- 2 heads red and green lettuce or assorted salad greens and leaves
- 16-20 perilla leaves (kkaennip)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil sprinkled with dashes freshly cracked pepper
Optional sides
- 4 oz (113 g) mushroom white or king oyster mushrooms
- 1 cup (240 ml, about 150 g) kimchi sliced
- 2-4 fresh green chili sliced
- 1 cucumber sliced
Ssamjang (Korean dipping sauce)
- 3 tbsp Korean soybean paste (doenjang)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp sweet rice wine (mirim)
- 1/2 tbsp sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Korean green onion salad
- 4 large green onion thinly shredded
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong) optional
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
For the ssamjang (Korean dipping sauce)
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for ssamjang and stir until well-combined. Then, transfer the mixture into individual sauce bowls for serving.
For the green onion salad
- In a mixing bowl, combine the green onion with the remaining ingredients and toss together using kitchen tongs. Divide the mixture into two serving dishes to share.
To prepare BBQ
- Heat the grill to medium heat and lightly grease the surface. Lay the pork belly strips, mushrooms, and garlic cloves on the grill and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes before flipping them over to the other side.
- After flipping, let the meat sear for 30 seconds before cutting the pork belly into bite-sized chunks with a pair of scissors. Continue cooking until the pork belly is golden brown and crispy, adjusting the heat if it browns too quickly.
- Avoid flipping the meat too often to prevent loss of flavor, and keep an eye on the mushrooms and garlic to avoid burning.
- Use a paper towel to wipe away any excess oil as needed. Additionally, you can add kimchi to the grill and cook it in the pork fat for added flavor.
- To make a wrap, take a slice of lettuce and/or perilla leaf in one hand, dip a piece of cooked meat in sesame oil, add some ssamjang sauce, green onion salad, and fried garlic to it. You may also add fried kimchi on top if you prefer. Roll it tightly and enjoy
Notes
- For ease of cleaning and to avoid grease splatters from the grilling pork belly, I suggest covering your table with a disposable tablecloth or a few sheets of newspaper (which can often be obtained for free from a Korean store). This will also make cleaning up after the party a breeze.
- For side vegetables, consider getting different types of lettuces and leaves, including kkaennip (perilla leaves), to add more variety to your wraps. Some popular choices include green and red leaf lettuce, other types of salad greens, green chili peppers, cucumbers, and mushrooms.
- Korean soybean stew (Doenjang jjigae) and steamed egg (gyeran jjim) are also often served after grilling the meats.