The Korean Way - Samgyeopsal Experience

I am a meat lover and so no wonder I enjoy sampyeopsal a lot.
It is a popular Korean dish, and with Cebu a hot spot for Korean tourists, you will always find a Korean restaurant all over the city.

The literal meaning of the word is “three (sam; 삼) layered (gyeop; 겹) flesh (sal;살)”, referring to what appears to be three layers that are visible in the meat. * from wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samgyeopsal

Sampyeopsal are thin slices of pork belly, however, the meat is not marinated. You have to grill it at your dinning table (or in some restaurants, you can ask them to cook it for you -- they will still grill it at your table - part of the experience). It is dipped in seasoning and wrap in lettuce usually with rice and garlic. It is a unique dining experience that I always look forward to for the next.

Of the many Korean restaurants in the city, one stands out for me, Soora at Lahug. The service is excellent and the staff are very friendly. The place is very clean and cozy unlike other Korean restaurants. The plus of eating Korean meals are the side dishes. And with Soora, they have plenty of different side dishes with soup.
Another good Korean restaurant is Maroo located at Banilad. Maroo too is clean and classy, has plenty of side dishes and you can also ask them to cook the meat for you.

Then there is also Pearl Meatshop, while the prices are cheaper, the place is not that cozy. They have fewer side dishes as compared to the two places above but they still have a serving of Korean soup. It is still a good place to enjoy this delicious Korean dish.

What I love with eating sampyeopsal in lettuce wrap (sangchu-ssam) is the pure meaty taste fused with the flavors of the lettuce, garlic, onions and chilli. I enjoy it without rice, but you can also opt to add rice on your lettuce wrap. That's the beauty of it, you can vary the way you wrap your meat putting different spices as you prefer and eat it the way you want.

Part of the fun of eating this dish is the cooking part. They have this round grill plate placed over a butane stove and a small cup for the oil drippings.

You are given a pair of tongs and a pair of scissors as tools for your cooking. Since the meat are thinly sliced and without any seasoning, it is easily cook in a few minutes. If it is almost done, you cut the meat into smaller parts by using the scissors. Then continue grilling the meat. Just be ready though to smell afterwards since you will be grilling at your table. But it is part of the experience and fun.

Once the cooking part is done, the most awaited part begins. Phase 2, eating samgyeopsal.  First take a lettuce or Korean Perilla leaves with your hand. Dip the meat in ssamjung and place on the leaf. Put some onions, garlic and sliced green chilli peppers. If you prefer, put some rice, and then roll the leaf wrapping all the ingredients. Then you are ready to devour your sangchu-ssam. Sangchu-ssam means lettuce wrapped. You can also vary the way you wrap by wrapping it together in both lettuce and perilla leaves and adding kimchi on top of the meat, onions, garlic and green chilli peppers or simply wrap it with the ingredients that you want.

Ssamjung is a thick spicy paste made of red chilli pepper paste, soybean paste with onions, garlic and seasame oil.

Now, that is a better way of enjoying pork. Aside from the usual grilled pork belly, adobo, humba and steaks, there is samgyeopsal in a lettuce wrap. What's even better is, it's kind of a healthier way to enjoy pork with all the vegetable side dishes and the lettuce wrapping with onions and garlic. It is just like eating meat with a garden salad.