After a week and a half of living in Seoul, I finally went to my first Korean BBQ dinner last night. It was at a swanky place called Sam Won Garden near Abgujung; its website boasts of hosting prime ministers and "VIPs" like Miss Young International contestants. Clearly, we had to check this place out. With Tyler still at Camp Samsung (rumor has it they performed skits about their country last night... the Indians, with their regional pride and differences, apparently could not agree on anything!), I rounded up some of the other spouses to go out and get to know one another. I was pleased to discover that Samsung spouses aren't just wives -- there are a few husbands here too (who spent most of this week putting together furniture).
After walking through what seemed to be plastic surgery central (more on that on a different post for sure!), we arrived at Sam Won Garden, complete with lots of greenery and even a waterfall (actually reminded of me a bit of Kum Gang San in NYC).
We order bulgogi, marinated thin slices of sirloin that's grilled at our table, along with marinated beef short ribs called galbi. While Korean BBQ menus in the US include just about everything (beef, pork, chicken, and vegetable options), I'm learning that BBQ places in Korea tend to specialize in either beef or pork -- but it's rare to find both on the menu. Instead, the menus are generally divided into marinated (usually bulgogi, galbi, or jumulleok -- short steaks) or un-marinated (which can include thinly-sliced brisket called "chadolbaegi" or thick slices of pork belly called "samgyeopsal" if you're at a pork place) that are then cooked over a table-top grill.
At my going-away dinner in NYC, a friend scared me by asking, "Do they even have Korean BBQ in Korea, or is it an American invention?"... We then brought ourselves to hysterics asking, "And if they do have it, do they also call it Korean BBQ?!" I was relieved to discover that Korean BBQ here is indeed just like in K-town (and alas, they call it Gogigui here -- which literally means "meat + roasting".) One big difference is restaurants here have many more banchan or side dishes, which are all served in tiny bowls that continue getting refilled throughout the meal (there was hardly any room on our table when we asked for glasses of water midway into our meal).
I was excited that Koreans eat their BBQ here just like we do at home: wrapping the meat with lettuce (which we learn is called "ssam") and adding condiments like ssamjang paste and pajori, a spicy scallion salad (Tyler calls this "making Korean burritos"). I've been clearly burned by loving Indian food in the States, only to find that it's really different in India and took some getting used to!
We ordered a few stews, which despite looking super scary (how spicy IS that?!), turned out to be surprisingly delicious:
We left the restaurant (now lit with beautiful lanterns) with happy (and stuffed!!) tummies. The fifteen minute walk back to the subway was more than welcome...
Unable to sleep, I wondered where Korean BBQ came from in the first place (being married to Tyler is full-time training with a question-master-Jedi). First fun (though perhaps unsurprising) fact: bulgogi is listed as #23 in CNN's The World's 50 Most Delicious Foods Reader's Poll.
I learn that Korean BBQ, or "gogigui", is actually a relatively modern culinary invention, which was developed in restaurants in the 1950s after the Korean War. According to a food blog: "Finding a Korean barbecue restaurant in Seoul is easy. Finding a good Korean barbeque restaurant that hasn't been closed for more than 50 years is really hard." I find Daedo Shikdang, opened in 1964, which specializes in hanwoo sirloin (and is actually the only thing you can order there). I next try to track down the oldest Korean BBQ restaurant in the US, but the closest I get is multiple references to Dong II Jang Restaurant in LA's Koreatown being one of the oldest. That opened in 1978; always a mind-trip to think about how different eating-out options were in the US even just thirty years ago.
Though Korean BBQ is relatively new, the history of bulgogi (which literally means "fire meat" in Korean) has a much more interesting arch. It arose during the Goguryeo Dynasty, from 37 BC to 668 AD, and was called "makjeok" at the time. Its preparation then was similar to its preparation now: cuts of beef, topped with garlic, scallion, and soy sauce (lots of it!).
Buddhism then spread the land, bringing with it vegetarianism -- resulting in Koreans eating less beef and bulgogi essentially disappearing from the scene. Then the Mongols invaded, and with that, beef came back into the picture, particularly among royalty. With the Chosun Dynasty taking hold of the Korean peninsula, a fancier version of bulgogi (called "neobiani") was introduced in the king's kitchen. These were slightly thicker cuts of beef than bulgogi and seasoned with soy sauce and uber-expensive sugar. You can still find neobiani in restaurants today. Today, one can find fancy bulgogi that includes fruit puree or juices like Asian pears (and I hear Korean BBQ places in Hawaii add pineapple to their marinade!)
The oldest restaurant in Seoul I find serving bulgogi is Wooraeok, opened in 1946 and visited by Obama earlier this year, which is known for both its bulgogi and its "Pyeongyang naengmyun". Culinary lore has it that someone smuggled in a famous recipe from North Korea before the Korean War. Naengmyun is considered a winter treat in North Korea, though it's a summer delicacy in South Korea.
So that's all I got on Korean BBQ. Here's a recipe that I'm hoping we can try at some point. If you try it at home, let me know how it comes out!
Ingredients:
1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2.5 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine ingredients above in a small bowl and pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Preheat grill to high heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Quickly grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.
After walking through what seemed to be plastic surgery central (more on that on a different post for sure!), we arrived at Sam Won Garden, complete with lots of greenery and even a waterfall (actually reminded of me a bit of Kum Gang San in NYC).
We order bulgogi, marinated thin slices of sirloin that's grilled at our table, along with marinated beef short ribs called galbi. While Korean BBQ menus in the US include just about everything (beef, pork, chicken, and vegetable options), I'm learning that BBQ places in Korea tend to specialize in either beef or pork -- but it's rare to find both on the menu. Instead, the menus are generally divided into marinated (usually bulgogi, galbi, or jumulleok -- short steaks) or un-marinated (which can include thinly-sliced brisket called "chadolbaegi" or thick slices of pork belly called "samgyeopsal" if you're at a pork place) that are then cooked over a table-top grill.
At my going-away dinner in NYC, a friend scared me by asking, "Do they even have Korean BBQ in Korea, or is it an American invention?"... We then brought ourselves to hysterics asking, "And if they do have it, do they also call it Korean BBQ?!" I was relieved to discover that Korean BBQ here is indeed just like in K-town (and alas, they call it Gogigui here -- which literally means "meat + roasting".) One big difference is restaurants here have many more banchan or side dishes, which are all served in tiny bowls that continue getting refilled throughout the meal (there was hardly any room on our table when we asked for glasses of water midway into our meal).
I was excited that Koreans eat their BBQ here just like we do at home: wrapping the meat with lettuce (which we learn is called "ssam") and adding condiments like ssamjang paste and pajori, a spicy scallion salad (Tyler calls this "making Korean burritos"). I've been clearly burned by loving Indian food in the States, only to find that it's really different in India and took some getting used to!
We ordered a few stews, which despite looking super scary (how spicy IS that?!), turned out to be surprisingly delicious:
We left the restaurant (now lit with beautiful lanterns) with happy (and stuffed!!) tummies. The fifteen minute walk back to the subway was more than welcome...
Unable to sleep, I wondered where Korean BBQ came from in the first place (being married to Tyler is full-time training with a question-master-Jedi). First fun (though perhaps unsurprising) fact: bulgogi is listed as #23 in CNN's The World's 50 Most Delicious Foods Reader's Poll.
I learn that Korean BBQ, or "gogigui", is actually a relatively modern culinary invention, which was developed in restaurants in the 1950s after the Korean War. According to a food blog: "Finding a Korean barbecue restaurant in Seoul is easy. Finding a good Korean barbeque restaurant that hasn't been closed for more than 50 years is really hard." I find Daedo Shikdang, opened in 1964, which specializes in hanwoo sirloin (and is actually the only thing you can order there). I next try to track down the oldest Korean BBQ restaurant in the US, but the closest I get is multiple references to Dong II Jang Restaurant in LA's Koreatown being one of the oldest. That opened in 1978; always a mind-trip to think about how different eating-out options were in the US even just thirty years ago.
Though Korean BBQ is relatively new, the history of bulgogi (which literally means "fire meat" in Korean) has a much more interesting arch. It arose during the Goguryeo Dynasty, from 37 BC to 668 AD, and was called "makjeok" at the time. Its preparation then was similar to its preparation now: cuts of beef, topped with garlic, scallion, and soy sauce (lots of it!).
Buddhism then spread the land, bringing with it vegetarianism -- resulting in Koreans eating less beef and bulgogi essentially disappearing from the scene. Then the Mongols invaded, and with that, beef came back into the picture, particularly among royalty. With the Chosun Dynasty taking hold of the Korean peninsula, a fancier version of bulgogi (called "neobiani") was introduced in the king's kitchen. These were slightly thicker cuts of beef than bulgogi and seasoned with soy sauce and uber-expensive sugar. You can still find neobiani in restaurants today. Today, one can find fancy bulgogi that includes fruit puree or juices like Asian pears (and I hear Korean BBQ places in Hawaii add pineapple to their marinade!)
The oldest restaurant in Seoul I find serving bulgogi is Wooraeok, opened in 1946 and visited by Obama earlier this year, which is known for both its bulgogi and its "Pyeongyang naengmyun". Culinary lore has it that someone smuggled in a famous recipe from North Korea before the Korean War. Naengmyun is considered a winter treat in North Korea, though it's a summer delicacy in South Korea.
So that's all I got on Korean BBQ. Here's a recipe that I'm hoping we can try at some point. If you try it at home, let me know how it comes out!
Ingredients:
1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2.5 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine ingredients above in a small bowl and pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Preheat grill to high heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Quickly grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.
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