Enjoy Korean BBQ!

By Bernard Rowan

A great aspect of Korean cuisine is barbecue restaurants. I'm not talking about American-style barbecue joints or steakhouses, but instead the delicious places where Koreans prepare beef, pork and chicken over a grill. For this column, I'm going to share some of my recommendations and experiences based on many happy dinners with friends and colleagues.

First, be sure to realize that Korean dinner is a group affair. It's likely that you won't find the server willing to give a dinner menu when you come in alone! Even though we're busy and eat on the run, you'll find that Korean dining means for two or more people. And I do think it's still preferable for many reasons to eat a meal together. In Korea, it's a custom worth praising. Find a friend or acquaintance and go to a good BBQ restaurant! Once I ordered for two, even though I was by myself! That felt decidedly odd.

If you're new to Korea, it's great to let your Korean friends show you how it's done. I love banchan appetizers. Consume banchan or side dishes with food or by themselves. They taste great as accompaniments to rice! Even though one eats rice or boribap (barley rice) typically at the end of the meal, the banchan appears at the beginning. The side dishes often have a role in consuming the cooked meat. Side dishes typically include one or two kinds of kimchi on the simple or scaled-down variety, or you may be lucky to enjoy an entire table of them. Enjoy many types of roots, seafood, stems, and fermented and seasoned vegetables. I like bellflower root, ggakttugi (radish kimchi) and mul kimchi (water kimchi/mild). All the side dishes have their good taste. Grilled fish such as godeungeo gui (mackerel) also are a wonderful appetizer.

You won't usually find most BBQ restaurants serving pork, beef, and all kinds of meats. Korean restaurants specialize in one meat for grilling, though I'm sure the buffet trend to ''all foods eateries" has found its way to Korea too. Nonetheless, it's not a typical style of Korean eating.

Different kinds of meat and cooking styles in Korea see different cooking dishes. Given the tendency of meat to char, in particular with the various marinades, onions, and other seasonings, your dinner can turn into disaster. The less experienced shouldn't try to do all the cooking and cutting. Also, the cooking grill turns to disaster if it's not regularly changed. When an ajumma or agassi cooks and presents the food, and when the server changes grills regularly, you've found a good restaurant.

I think the most popular Korean dinner barbecue involves samgyupsal or grilled pork belly. This delicious meat is a different way to cut pork into bacon, and it tastes wonderful as part of ssam or Korean ''wraps." Cook the meat and put it in a lettuce leaf with rice, scallions, some bean paste (doenjang) and some kimchi. Again, the side dishes cultivate the notion of balanced eating. Consuming each bite of meat surrounded by other vegetables that complement its taste pleases the palate and provides more balanced substance to our bodies. To my mind, it's a healthier Korean version of the taco. For those who'd take a drink, enjoy a glass of soju or bottle of Korean beer.

I've enjoyed many good times at dinner in samgyupsal places. Mind you, there are many other good cuts of pork served at pork BBQ houses. My favorites include galmaegisal and moksal.

I don't care for chicken galbi, but it has its devotees. Dak galbi tastes good when cooked with cabbage and other vegetables and hot pepper paste (gochujang). There are better ways to eat chicken, but on occasion it's worth a shot.

I've always been a beef eater, and Korean beef barbecue restaurants don't disappoint. It's delicious, but don't obsess over the ever popular bulgogi. I think of it as lunch food. The counterpart for dinner is galbi, which comes in various forms. This well-seasoned meat is delicious when cooked over a brazier. Saeng galbi is meat without seasoning. Dip it in salt and pepper and then in sesame oil, which makes for a wonderful combination. My favorite Korean beef dishes are chaebejuli and chadolbaegi. The former outstanding cut from the center of the cow makes for delicious eating. Enjoy chadolbaegi, or thinly sliced brisket. It's wonderful when grilled or as part of a hotpot or shabu shabu. I remember an especially good dinner that featured fried rice made of kimchi and the leftover meat.

An excellent online primer in Korean barbecue and meat cuts is a The Korea Blog entry by Suzy Chung, "A Carnivore's Guide to Korean Meat Cuts" (http://blog.korea.net/?p=7852). In Korean neighborhoods or major department stores, go to a butcher and learn about the different cuts of meat. For some time, places like Hyundai Department Store have featured separate counters for American and Korean beef.

When in Korea, try Korean barbecue. To experience Korean eating and friendship, there's not much better. Jalmeogeutseumnida!

Bernard Rowan is assistant provost for curriculum and assessment, professor of political science and faculty athletics representative at Chicago State University, where he has served for 22 years. Write him at browan10@yahoo.com.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn