Making Samgyupsal at Home

Making Samgyupsal at Home

Who doesn't like a Samgyupsal party? The world is now taken over by Korean pop that everyone knows what samgyupsal is.

Okay...

For those who do not, it is popularly known as a Korean barbecue party where you grill your own food. Samgyupsal means pork belly but along with pork, beef and chicken is also served. I think that because of the booming Kpop craze today in the Philippines, the amount of restaurants which offers grilling had tremendously increased specifically those that offer unlimited grilling with their banchans or side sides. Prices usually range on an average of 500 pesos per person for an unlimited pork and beef selection.

If you are not really a big eater but always wanted to try it, you can always do it yourself at home. It may not be as like those in a restaurant but it is way cheaper and you get the bang for your bucks.

Here are the list of things you will need in a samgyupsal party:

Pork belly (Liempo)

Lettuce

Garlic/ Onions

Kimchi

ssamjang

Dipping sauce (Sesame Oil with bit of salt and pepper)

So in order to start, you need to purchase the essentials listed above.

The pork belly or liempo which I got for 256 php/kilogram at SM Makati. I think this is way cheaper than other supermarkets and wet markets. Though you might disagree with me at the mention of wet market but the problem with them is that sometimes the meat you bought weighs less and the vendor's way of handling the meat. Anyway, I got 6 portions of meat in a kilogram. The meat is around bit thicker, probably half or 2/3 of an inch in size. You can opt to buy a thinner slice (bacon slice) though it may cost you more. If I remembered it right, price costs around 289 pesos at a sale price and 296 pesos at a regular price.

After that, you clean it up with water and then pat the excess water with paper towel. Put a little bit of rock salt and pepper according to your preferred taste. If you want savory, you can purchase a marinade barbecue sauce. I dont know what is the reason but I noticed that the meat in a Korean restaurant is sliced a bit in portions.

I purchased the Green ice lettuce at Landmark. It costs 250 pesos per kilogram. But I think 2 packs are a lot already for 2-3 persons. I got mine 60-70 pesos per pack.

Let's move at the Kimchi portion. I used to make my own version of Kimchi and I like it better than the one bought in the supermarket. However, the kimchi powder is too expensive for me (costs around 600-700 per kilogram) and I sure won't be able to use that many. So I chose to buy a large tub in a Teppen Japanese And Korean Grocery store in Makati for about 180 pesos. Out of the kimchi that I bought, the one that I bought here had deep flavors and recommend this. It may be a bit spicy though. Teppen Japanese And Korean Grocery store in Makati has also lots of korean groceries. 

I bought a small tub of ssamjjang at 120 pesos at Landmark.

I can't remember the price of the Sesame oil but I got it from Landmark too.

The garlic and onions you can buy anywhere. Cut the garlic into small horizontal portions while the onions into like when you are doing onion rings.

For the dipping sauce, just pour sesame oil with a bit of salt and pepper.

You can use charcoal as it will be more flavorful because of it's smoky flavor but you can also use the stove. Some use the grill pan and others use the korean barbecue plate. Any pan will do as long as it is thick enough so that the meat will not burn easily. 

Now, preheat the pan. I watched somewhere in YouTube that they use the fat of the pork to oil the plate/pan. I tried to do that and it was effective. Then, I cooked the pork and put garlic on the sides. Turn them from time to time until they are cooked.

Arrange it and then you can start with your samgyupsal party!

Oh, and by the way, I would recommend not to forget drinking hot tea afterwards!

A Simple Samgyupsal. I'll be making some banchans the next time! 

Enjoy!