KOREAN BBQ At Home
grilled meats.
Anytime. At home.
WHAT IS KOREAN BBQ?
Korean BBQ is one of the most popular, well-known foods of Korea. It takes the best of spending quality time with the people you love and combines it with barbecued food. The constant sizzle from the tabletop grill also removes all moments of awkward silence. How perfect is that?
Korean BBQ is family-style dining grilling meat and vegetables on a tabletop stove. Essential components include thinly sliced meats, sliced vegetables, greens such as lettuce and perilla leaves, SSAMJANG which is a Korean savoury dip with rice, soup and BANCHAN Korean side dishes to round out the meal.
HOW TO MAKE KOREAN BBQ AT HOME?
The simplest way to to grab some meat, greens, SSAMJANG and rice from the grocery store. If you don’t have a tabletop or portable stove, I would suggest getting one if you enjoy eating this at home. The whole point is to eat meat fresh off the grill and cooking it on a stove and then eating it at the table would be a different type of thing all together.
Start once the rice has cooked. If you stock Korean pantry ingredients, make some DOENJANG JJIGAE (my way, the fast way here) Fermented Bean Stew and get that going. Then set up the grill and you’re on your way. Have the table all set up because once you fire up the grill, it’s eating time. Wash the greens, portion out SSAMJANG and BANCHAN to smaller dishes and everyone gets a bowl of rice. Ready?
Begin grilling meats. Make a SSAM (wrap), add a piece of meat from the grill, eat. Repeat until overly full. When the stew is done, bring that over and take a break from SSAM to enjoy some hot soup. Drink adult beverages, have lively conversation, watch everyone get a little food coma sleepy.
EQUIPMENT FOR A KOREAN BBQ AT HOME:
Portable Camping Gas Stove + Extra Butane or an Electric Smokeless BBQ Grill with Extractor.
WHAT YOU NEED:
MEAT: Fattier cuts of pork and beef are the usual suspects
- Pork belly, pork shoulder, beef brisket, beef ribeye (sliced thin).
VEGETABLES: Grill hearty vegetables and make your vegetarian friend happy.
- Asparagus, sweet potatoes, mushrooms.
- You may also want to buy spicy peppers, cucumbers or carrots to eat raw dipped in SSAMJANG.
GREENS: This is the wrap for bundles of grilled meat and rice. Flexibility is key.
- Red leaf lettuce, green lettuce, perilla leaves, Boston, bibb, butterhead.
RICE: Short grain sticky rice.
BANCHAN: Get an assortment of Korean side dishes. Get at least KIMCHI.
SSAMJANG: Korean BBQ dip. Add a bit to each SSAM (wrap).
WHAT YOU DO:
Set up tabletop grill. Make sure you have enough gas (portable gas stove).
Plate everything: Meats, lettuce leaves, BANCHAN portions, SSAMJANG (per person), rice (per person).
If making DOENJANG JJIGAE, get it on the stove now so it’s ready later in the meal.
Fire up the grill and begin! One person has to unfortunately cook the meat, but everyone can get started eating some hot, sizzling meat! Eat rice with side dishes until meat is ready, otherwise, assemble your wraps and keep going until full.
If you have some hot peppers, carrots or cucumbers, cut them into sticks or bite-sizes so you can dip in some SSAMJANG and it them raw. The fresh crunch will provide a nice break from all the meat-eating.
Serve hot soup. If you have small soup bowls (appetizer size), it’s better to serve individually, but if you are comfortable spit-swapping, just share it already.
If for some reason, you are not full and all the meat has come and gone, fill up on soup, rice and side dishes.
You have finished Korean BBQ. Play a fun game to see who gets to clean everything up.
HOW TO MAKE SSAM AT KOREAN BBQ
SSAM means wrap as in wrapping up the food. Think of it like tapas, except you assemble it yourself and conbine many flavours together, and you have to hold it closed the whole time. A high-maintenance, self-serve style tapas.
Take a lettuce leaf (or whatever thin, flexible edible green you got). This is your first layer.
Add a little less rice than the amount you would scoop unto a spoon.
Get a piece of meat off the grill.
Add a little or big dollop of SSAMJANG- this adds seasoning and flavour to grilled meat.
Add any BANCHAN (maybe a slice of kimchi?) you feel like.
Bring all the corners up together in a neat bundle- put entire thing in your mouth.
COMMON BEGINNER ISSUES
Problem #1: The SSAM is too big!
You can take a bite in the middle. Be aware that you do risk components falling out- rice is especially prone to this- that can make it visually awkward. Hopefully everyone will be too busy eating to notice. Try to make your SSAM smaller next time, or just be loud and proud with your crocodile mouth.
Problem #2: I don’t want to put so much stuff in my SSAM.
Hey, Korean BBQ is all about customization. You can go big and add everything on the table or you can just do meats in greens with SSAMJANG. Don’t want greens? Just eat the grilled meat with dip. Don’t like SSAMJANG? Just go for a meat only extravaganza (very popular for keto-type dieters). Korean BBQ caters to everyone!
Problem #3: It’s so messy, what if SSAMJANG falls out of my SSAM and lands on my clothes?
Hey, it can happen. The culprit to this problem arises from attempting to make the SSAM too big to handle. Unless you have a Julia Roberts’ type of mouth, I would not attempt. But take some wet tissues and a clothes-cleaning pen if it makes you more comfortable. Maybe don’t wear your nicest clothes- this is actually for Korean BBQ itself. Everything will need to get laundered once you enter an indoor meat smoke-filled environment.
HOW TO HAVE A VEGETARIAN KOREAN BBQ
Slice vegetables accordingly so it will cook relatively quickly. Root vegetables like potatoes and taro will take longer, so put them on the grill first and let them soften up. Mushrooms and tofu won’t take too long at all, so slice them a little thicker. Remember there are many kinds of mushrooms- namely King Oyster mushrooms will cook up juicy and meaty, a must-try.
HOW TO GET RID OF KITCHEN ODOURS AFTER KOREAN BBQ AT HOME?
This is the biggest concern when thinking of incorporating Korean BBQ into your rotation, isn’t it? It’s no laughing matter when you are still smelling grilled meats at breakfast the next day.
The first course of action is prevention. Koreans usually enjoy many a BBQ night, in pleasant weather, outdoors. Be it a backyard or rooftop terrace. But the craving will beckon even (or maybe more especially so) in the cold of winter.
LIMIT ODOURS: Remember to close all other doors in the house to prevent too much smoke from entering closets and bedrooms.
CLEAN UP: Clean all grills and pans used as soon as they’ve cooled down. It’s easy to clean oils and drippings off non-stick coated surfaces by doing a quick wipedown with a paper towel when still warm. All that stuff retains odours.
VENTILATE: Open some windows and light some mood-enhancing candles.
COFFEE: Brew coffee and serve dessert. Coffee contains nitrogen which can help neutralize odours. Plus, coffee smells incredible and everyone loves it according to me.
VINEGAR: Boil 1:3 parts water to vinegar. Or just lay out a bowl of vinegar on the counter overnight (I wouldn’t do it when guests are still in the house. Vinegar is a terrible smell to have wafting everywhere).
LEMON: Boil some lemon slices.
ACTIVATED CHARCOAL: Charcoal is “activated” by heat or chemicals which make is porous. It then absorbs odour-causing molecules in the air. It also works as a humidifier.
Congratulations, best wishes to many days of Korean BBQ-ing ahead.
