So what is a SamGyupSal (sam-gyup-sal / 삼겹살) party you ask?
SamGyupSal is the korean word for bacon. In a Western kitchen, bacon is commonly used for hamburgers, pizza, appetizers, and in wide variety of dish to bring a bold taste or to simply satisfy your appetize. A different way to eat bacon is the Korean style.

Samgyupsal is one of the preferred choice of meat in Korea due to the lower price per unit compared to other types of meat and fish, and best of all, it tastes really great.

More the merrier especially in a dinner table.
Saymgyupsal party is a gathering of families and/or friends usually for dinner at home or at a restaurant. If there are more than enough samgyupsar to feed all the hungry people, you can officially call the dinner a "samgyupsal party."
The main dish, samgyupsal (how'd you read my mind). Within each tables, there is a roasting pan, usually round-shaped electronic pan that heats the fresh meat and vegetables.

The side dishes include a bowl of rice (the main source of every Korean meal plus kimchi), hot red bean paste, and lots of vegetables. You'll find a wide selections of vegetables which are essential for the party. In one plate, you'll find sliced jalepenos and garlics. In another plate, stacks of fresh cilantros, lettuces, and ggatnip (can't remember the english term). In a small bowl, a combination of sesame oil, salt, and pepper to dip your samgyupsal.


How do you prepare the samgyupsal feast?
Visit a local Korean supermarket and run to the meat section and not walk. You'll want an early exercise before you consume delicious yet high-calorie meat. Once you get to the meat department, you'll see at least two to three different samgyupsals you can choose from. One is the regular kind you see at all supermarkets (even in American). In a Korean supermarket, you may find something called "HeukDaeGee" samgyupsal. HeukDaeGee means a mountain boar. You can see the difference when compared to each other. The packaged HeukDaeGee samgyupsar costs more, contains less fat (the white parts) within each slices, and sliced larger in size compared to the traditional samgyupsar.
I recommend getting both if this will be your first samgyupsal party but if you're a regular and have not tried the HeukDaeGee samgyupsal, you're missing out! Get it now! HeukDaeGee samgyupsal tastes much better and contains less fat.

When selecting your packaged samgyupsal, you should carefully peruse the freezer container (the samgyupsar needs to be frozen at all time and thawed 30 minutes prior to the cook) to select the best quality. To select the best tasting package, you need to observe the color of the samgyupsal. The more red in color, the better and fresher the quality. Squeezing the meat will do not good because they are all frozen. However, there are exceptions. I've visited a Korean supermarket myself to refill the samgyupsals and there are unfrozen packages. These samgyupsar packages are not frozen but chilled at a very cool temperature to keep the meat very tender and fresh red in color. You can feel the firmness of the meat. I recommend selecting the unfrozen packages. The price might be a tad higher but you get what you pay for.

You would then head over to the vegetable aisle and grab the freshest lettuces, ggatnip, cilantros, jalepenos, and garlics. Grab just enough to feed yourself and your guests. Then finally walk over to sauce aisle in the supermarket. You will need to search for hot red bean paste, known as "GoChooJang." [A Photo will be posted at a later date] GgoChooJang is not cheap. Depending on the size you're getting, some goes over $10 dollars for the package. There are many to choose from and I'll list my recommendations at a later date too. Choose something small for now so it will not go over your budget.


Originally posted on 14th December 2005 - 10:49 AM in the Resource forum.
http://www.kwak.org/info/index.php?showtopic=146
SamGyupSal (Korean Bacon) Party

If you're preparing the samgyupsal party as soon as you arrive home, let the samgyupsal thaw for good thirty minutes. Try to avoid microwaving the frozen samgyupsal since you do not want it thawed in such method as it might affect the tenderness of the meat. If your samgyupsal is unfrozen and fresh, great!
Immediately store the samgyupsal packages in your freezer for future use.
So, let's get this started.


Samgypsal Instruction
1. Wash your hands and all the plates, bowls, and utensils that will be used for the party. Remember to use chopsticks and not forks. Forks are a no-no in a samgyupsal party. Know your Korean etiquette!

2. Wash your vegetables thoroughly.

You can buy the lettuce in any local grocery market but you might have some difficulty finding the Korean cilantro. The Korean cilantro is not a preferred choice of vegetable to eat along with your samgypsal because of its overwhelming taste. Some people enjoy the unique and powerful taste while others dislike the taste. The Korean cilantro should be on the last place of your grocery list.



The jalapenos can also be bought at any grocery market. However, there are a variety of different options to choose from jalapenos alone. For instance, some are really spicy while others are not. I bought these at a Korean supermarket. The cilantros can be found at your local market. Cilantros are also an option and if you prefer the great taste of it, go get some. I enjoy adding cilantro to every samgypsal party along with gatnip. If you know the English terminology for gatnip, please let me know. The gatnip along with lettuce and cilantro are the three best combination of vegetables I prefer and are recommended to you.



In this photo, you can see the addition of the mushroom sprouts and select mushrooms. The select mushrooms is the most costly vegetable out of the picture. Thus it is an option. If you dine in a Korean restaurant to get samgypsal, a small amount of mushrooms are usually added in along with the plate of meats. The mushroom sprouts that you see on the bottom right corner is also an option. I've tried it the first time when I took this photo as my uncle bought it from the supermarket. It tasted good when you roast it for a quick minute and add it to your 'bite' (described below).


The vegetables are all optional but highly recommended for the party. Lettuce is the priority when it comes to the vegetables. The korean cilantro (don't know the english name for it) that you see on the right is a powerful vegetable and what I mean by it is that its unique taste will overpower the other flavors.

This package of samgyupsal was previously frozen and is being thawed at the moment, hence the color of the meat. If you buy a fresh package of samgyupsal that is not frozen, the color of the meat should be red in color. The one pound package costed $3.80 dollars and most packages costs around or below $5.00 dollars.



The boneless chuck rib is a specialty and I was happy when my uncle bought it.
U.S.D.A. choice and notice the freshness in the meat? This meat will melt in your mouth once dipped in the marinated sauce.



A photo of the main ingredients that are being used for the party. Rice, red gochoojang, marinated sauce, and the frying pan is missing in the shot.

The frying pan is an electronic pan with drains on the top layer of the pan. The drain holes drain down the fat from the samgypsal and the rest of the meat. Draining out the fat makes the meat much more tastier and healthier.

When you have all the vegetables washed and ready to eat with a bowl of rice and your samgypsal and chadolbagee freshly grilled, you sir/madam are ready to form what is known as a BITE. The bite is the combination of each vegetable and meat(s) into one small package, wrapped entirely with the lettuce.

To illustrate what a bite should look like:

1. Pick a layer of lettuce; you may rip it apart in half if the lettuce is large
2. Toss a gatnip on top of the lettuce
3. Toss some cilantro and/or Korean cilantro on top of the gatnip
4. Toss some mushroom sprouts (optional) on top of the cilantros
5. Add some rice on top of your vegetables
6. Dip your samgypsal, chadolbagee, and/or galbi to the marinated sauce and add it on top of the rice
7. Add the right amount of red hot gochoojang on top of your meat
8. Finally, wrap the package with your lettuce and watch it disappear!
9. Continue the procedure and try with different combinations of the vegetables and meats.

Be warned: This is a HIGH-CALORIE meal so take precaution when having a samgyupsal party.

Funny how this thread got over a 1,000 views considering I wrote about this topic just for fun. Andrew C. e-mailed me and wrote that the English name for "gatnip" is perilla. Perilla leaves adds a unique taste when you form the "bite." Thank you Andrew.

There is no official samgyupsal parties going on in Korea FYI. But there are many dining restaurants in Los Angeles Koreatown that serves samgyupsal along with a variety of other mouth-watering meat. Nowadays, it is common to find restaurants that serves endless plates of meats! Prices range from $10.99 and all the way to $24.99 for the buffet and a child price should be a few dollars cheaper. In certain restaurants, customers have the option to choose single servings or the all you can eat meat servings.

As soon as you step into the restaurant, waiters and waitresses are all over the area with plates of meat on their right hand and bottles of soju (Korean distilled beverage 'spirit') with their left. It is not a friendly place for a die-hard vegan obviously. But for a protein-hungry customers, I highly recommend visiting these restaurants. You just can't miss it if you're in Koreatown.

The $10.99 basic buffet should include about four different meat groups: samgyupsal, cow tongue, beef brisket, and lamb. Expensive buffets include a wide variety of meat and banchans (Korean side dishes). A restaurant down in Cerritos serves meat, sushi, noodles, Chinese, kid's food, and more at a great price of $17.99 dinner.