1. Ingredients for Samgyupsal
- Primary ingredients: Pork
- Secondary ingredients: Vegetables for Ssam(lettuce and perilla leaves), spices (onion, garlic and welsh onion) and sauce (Ssamjang)
2. Taste evaluation
-Spicy: ☆☆☆☆☆
-Salty: ☆☆☆☆☆
-Sweet: ☆☆☆☆☆
-Sour: ☆☆☆☆☆
-Toasted flavor and meat flavor: ★★★★☆
3. Introduction to Samgyupsal (Pork belly)
Samgyupsal translates to three layers of fat and flesh of pork belly.
As one of most popular foods in Korea, people go to eat this Samgyupsal when they decided to go out or even when they want to eat meat at home.
But it’s the same part used as bacons and Samgyupsal is not actually preferred in other countries. But because of Korean wave, eating Samgyupsal wrapped in vegetables is getting famous around the world.
Samgyupsal is not a recipe but the name of a part of pork meat so its origin is quite simple. Since a long time ago, there have been so many beef variations because pork meat contains too much fat and low-quality meat.
But the tasty beef was so expensive so people from Gaeseong who were good at doing business started to improve the quality of pork and sell it at a cheap price.
Originally the pork used to be less tasty because the pigs were fed food waste, rice bran and tofu residue long time ago.
People from Gaeseong started feeding pigs on pig feed that’s low in fiver so its flesh forms at the edge of fat and then the fat forms again.
Since then, people started to eat grilled or baked pork as well as stir-frying it with vegetables or using in soup.
One butcher’s shop in Cheongju started to sell pigs with improved quality which lead to its distribution to the whole country. 
Samgyupsal contains fat and meat and it’s sliced and grilled with charcoal fire.
It has fat between meat that makes it taste so good.
But various vegetables and sauces make it taste better than just meat itself.
Samgyupsal has a large portion of fat so even if the first taste is nice it gets greasy later.
You could eat it wrapped in different vegetables like lettuce or perilla leaves or dip it in Ssamjang, Korean traditional sauce that is made with Deonjang and Gochujang paste.
Ssamjang tastes salty and spicy and the aftertaste is very nice because the main ingredients are beans. You’d have to dip the meat in this sauce because it is not seasoned at all.
You could also add sliced garlic, onions, chili pepper or spicy spring onions. They add more flavors to meat.
Moreover, Samgyupsal has something to do with togetherness.
People look for Samgyupsal when they want to have a drink or two after work with their colleges or friends.
They share stories and talk over a drink while they grill the meat sitting at a small table.
Samgyupsal is what makes people drink, eat and talk in a very informal atmosphere.
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4. Kinds of Samgyupsal
Samgyupsal is not a cuisine but simply a specific part of pork. So other parts of the meat cannot be used.
Normally Samgyupsal is eaten with no sauce but sometimes Gochujang paste is used for special occasions.
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5. How to enjoy Samgyupsal even more
Samgyupsal is served raw on the table so you can grill it in front of you.
Because it’s not grilled by the cook, you should properly cook it yourself.
The secret is the same as steak.
Once the pan is hot, put a few pieces of thick Samgyupsal and grill it until the skin turns brown.
Do not flip it too many times, instead wait until one side turns brown before you flip it.
When it’s all done, cut it into bite size pieces to check if it’s well cooked and eat it.
You should grill both sides until they turn brown yet keep the gravy inside and cut it once it’s properly grilled so that the gravy does not come outside.
But if you wait until they turn dark brown, the texture would be too hard and less tasty.
When it’s all done though, try a piece of meat first. The more you chew, the more tasty it gets in your mouth.
And then try to eat a Ssam of Samgyupsal wrapped in lettuce or vegetables along with small amount of Ssamjang(processed soybean paste) and a garlic in it.
Most restaurants that sell meat in Korea would have Samgyupsal. It’s THAT popular.
And as far as I know, Samgyupsal is getting famous everyday in other countries as well.
You should try the original taste of soon-to-be worldwide popular food right here in Korea.
