How to Enjoy Korean BBQ at Home, Just Like a Restaurant by Sue Pressey (Author of My Korean Kitchen) Position A message from the author Hi, It's Sue here, Thank you for subscribing to my e-mail newsletter. I really appreciate your interest in my recipes and also that you are a Korean food fan. As a token of my appreciation, I prepared this short book on How to enjoy Korean BBQ at home, just like a restaurant. I hope you can enjoy your next Korean BBQ even more after reading this book! Copyrights and Disclaimer This book is for personal use only, it may not be distributed or republished without the prior written permission of the author. Requests to the author and publisher for permission should be addressed to the following email: [email protected] Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content in this book, they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Also, you should use this information as you see fit, and at your own risk. Your particular situation may not be exactly suited to the examples illustrated here; You should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of information in this book. Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if I use one of these terms. Copyright © 2015 by Sue Pressey (Author of My Korean Kitchen). All rights reserved. 3 MyKoreanKitchen.com Intro Everyone loves Korean BBQ. OK…maybe not everyone. But anyone who has encountered the beauty of Korean BBQ at some point in their lives, they can’t live without it after that first introduction. Agree? In this book, I will show you how to enjoy Korean BBQ at home just like you would at a Korean restaurant. This information is compiled based on my own experience, observation, and the feedback received from other people in my life. I also want to point out that some of this information is already published here and there on my website (http://mykoreankitchen.com). I wrote this book to collate all the useful and necessary information I have on Korean BBQ and use this book as a one stop resource when it comes to the ultimate home- style Korean BBQ. I hope you can enjoy your next Korean BBQ even more after reading this book. If you have any questions regarding the contents of the book, please leave your questions on the Q&A section of My Korean Kitchen (http://mykoreankitchen.com/comments-and-questions/) so that other people can join in the conversation and we can build an even larger library of information on the topic - Korean BBQ. 4 MyKoreanKitchen.com Contents Types of Korean BBQ meat 6 Choosing a Korean BBQ grill plate 8 How to prepare for Korean BBQ 10 How to cook Korean BBQ 12 Grilled companion food 14 Serving Korean BBQ meat 16 Korean BBQ manners 23 5 MyKoreanKitchen.com Types of Korean BBQ There are several types of meat that are used for Korean BBQ. Mostly, it can be categorised as marinated or non-marinated. Wikipedia has a really good summary on this, so check it out here if you are interested. Among these varieties of meat, I have highlighted the Korean BBQ meats that are commonly cooked at home in the table below: You have probably heard of some of them, right? Even if you haven't, fear not, as I will point you in the right direction. 6 MyKoreanKitchen.com Marinated Korean BBQ (If you click the image below, it will take to the respective recipe on My Korean Kitchen.) Bulgogi BBQ Short LIbs Spicy Korean Pork Spicy Korean Chicken (LA Galbi) Non- marinated Korean BBQ There are no recipe links to non-marinated meat as all you need to do is literally grill the meat. I will cover more about how to grill these in a later chapter. 7 MyKoreanKitchen.com Choosing a Korean BBQ grill plate Not all of the meat mentioned in the previous chapter needs to be cooked on a Korean BBQ grill plate. Most of them are typically cooked in a wok at home. The most common meat that is cooked over a Korean BBQ grill plate is non- marinated meat; Korean Pork Belly (Samgyeopsal) and Pork Neck Bone Meat (Moksal). These non-marinated pork cuts need to be cooked on a BBQ grill plate because the fat from the meat has to be drained. (Of course, you can cook these in a frying pan, but just be aware that there will be a pool of melted fat in the pan and that can ruin the taste!) 8 MyKoreanKitchen.com These special BBQ grill plates have a channel where the oil from the meat can be drained out and caught easily. You just need to place a small empty bowl at the end of the channel. Typical Korean BBQ grill plates come in square or round shapes. I used to own a square one but now I have a round shape grill plate. You can purchase them from a local Korean grocery store. US Amazon also has an array of BBQ grill plates. A good Korean BBQ grill plate should be not too heavy, should be easy to lift, fit well on the portable gas burner and be easy to clean. Most of these plates are fairly similarly designed to each other so you can’t really go wrong. Nonetheless, if you want to find out more information on Korean BBQ grill plates, please check my article.I consulted with my mum, who owned a Korean restaurant for two decades before I wrote it. 9 MyKoreanKitchen.com How to prepare for Korean BBQ *Prepare the marinated meat as per the recipe provided in the Types of Korean BBQ chapter. *If you are cooking non-marinated meat, consider the following steps. Step 1. You can pre-cut the meat with a knife on a cutting board into bite sizes (5 to 6 cm, about 2 inches). This will save some time when you are grilling the meat. (Once the meat starts to cook, you will be busy and pre-occupied with turning them over and also eating them.) 10 MyKoreanKitchen.com For whatever reason, if you didn’t cut the meat before grilling, you will have to use tongs (to hold the meat) and scissors (to cut the meat). Cutting cooked meat is easier than cutting raw meat. Step 2. Place the (pre-cut or not) meat on to a large plate and put it near the BBQ grill plate in preparation for cooking. Step 3. If you are using a Korean BBQ grill plate, you will need a portable burner and a portable gas canister. Set them up. (Before that you might also want to put some newspaper on the table to absorb the splashed oil. I always do this.) Step 4. Place a small empty bowl near the end of the draining channel (of the BBQ grill plate) to catch any oil. 11 MyKoreanKitchen.com How to cook Korean BBQ For health and food safety reasons, place the meat on a grill using a designated set of tongs. Do not use your own chopsticks for raw meat. For non-marinated meat (e.g. Korean pork belly), it is important to spread some oil by rubbing around one piece of pork on the grill before you add the rest of the meat. That way the meat doesn’t stick to the plate. Don’t add any liquid oil. You will see plenty of natural oil drips from the meat. 12 MyKoreanKitchen.com Cook the meat on high heat for a short time then reduce the heat (to medium to low) to cook the meat thoroughly. While the meat is cooking on the grill, don’t turn it over every so often. As with any other BBQ, the more you turn it over, the more it loses its flavour and it also becomes drier. Some experts say that only turning the meat ONCE is the best. This is also what I do. You can also use an outdoor BBQ to cook Korean BBQ meat. In this case, follow your manufacturer’s instructions. On a side note, we cooked spicy Korean pork on a Weber BBQ once, and it was super delicious. It tasted as if I was eating it at a Korean charcoal BBQ restaurant. Even my mum was very impressed with the flavour and the texture. Though cleaning the BBQ afterwards was a bit of a hassle for my husband because the marinade stuck on the grill, but it was worth it! I will do it again and again! 13 MyKoreanKitchen.com Grilled companion food When you cook Korean BBQ meat, it is very common to grill some vegetables with it as well. There are five items that are commonly served at a Korean restaurant. Grill these in one corner of the grill plate. (Left) Thinly sliced raw garlic: (Right) Thinly sliced raw onion: I don’t like eating raw garlic but I love grilled garlic with Korean BBQ. Savoury and aromatic garlic increases the I also love grilled onion as well. No further explanation is pleasure of having BBQ. I might even like this more than necessary. Just add to your list! the actual meat.