Korean

BBQ

Unlocked: How To Make It At Home

Quick Summary

Imagine Squid Game intensity, but with actual squids on the grill. Korean BBQ is your ultimate food showdown – no crazy elimination, just eliminating hunger, with sizzling meat, spicy marinades, and make-your-own lettuce wraps that hit harder than a K-drama plot twist. This guide brings the full BBQ experience home, with pork, chicken, seafood stars, and banchan sides that deserve their own OST.

Deep Dive

BBQs are a communal thing, and Korean BBQs are no exceptions. Many restaurants that serve Korean food have an intimidating structure that might make it seem hard to replicate at home, but it’s actually not the case. You can get the key elements right, even without an intimidating or complex structure. Korean barbecue has smaller plates, and often you will see tables with built-in grills, which facilitates a lively atmosphere for those eating at the table. The sides are usually cooked with the meat that is grilled on the table and passed around. That is the heart of the Korean barbecue experience.

Meats For The Grilling

Pork

Start with samgyeopsal, which are thick, unseasoned pork belly slices. These are juicy, fatty, and crisp up beautifully on the grill. They’re best eaten wrapped in lettuce with dipping sauces and fresh sides. Another great pork cut is moksal, which is pork shoulder or neck. It’s a bit leaner than belly but still flavourful and can be grilled plain or marinated. 

Pork jowl, known as hangjuksal, is another rich, fatty cut with lots of flavour – great for fans of texture and juicy bites. You can also include galmaegisal, which is pork skirt meat. It’s meatier and chewier. There’s also pork ribs (dwaeji galbi), which are a crowd-pleaser. For the ribs, they need to marinate in a sweet-spicy Korean BBQ sauce for that sticky, charred goodness. If you want something on the easier side, include dwaeji bulgogi – thin pork slices marinated in a spicy or sweet-savoury sauce.

Chicken

Chicken is also excellent on a Korean BBQ menu. Opt for chicken thighs as they’re juicier than breasts and can be grilled plain or marinated. The Korean version is called dak bulgogi. You can also make dak galbi, which is spicy marinated chicken mixed with vegetables. These are great options for those who want something milder.

Seafood

You can also introduce seafood to the table for more variety. Use shrimp or prawns, either shell-on or peeled, and season them lightly or marinate them in garlic-soy sauce. Squid or cuttlefish is another fantastic option. If you want to make it a little fancier, add scallops, mussels, or clams – they cook quickly and make your home-style barbecue look like a feast. Even marinated fish fillets like salmon or pomfret can be added to the mix.

Marinades, Sauces, And Seasonings

To create the full Korean BBQ flavour, keep a balance of plain and marinated meats. For marinades, start with a classic Korean soy-garlic mix made from soy sauce, minced garlic, sugar or honey, sesame oil, and a bit of apple or pear juice for sweetness. This works well with pork and chicken. 

For those who enjoy spice, make a gochujang marinade – mix gochujang (Korean red chilli paste) with garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a little sugar. This spicy marinade works well with pork bulgogi, chicken thighs, or squid.

Don’t forget the dipping sauces. The simplest is sesame oil mixed with salt and black pepper – a Korean classic. Another is ssamjang, a savoury, slightly spicy paste made from fermented soybean paste and chilli. You can also provide small dishes of gochujang and soy-vinegar dips for variety. Pair these with fresh accompaniments like raw garlic slices, green chillies, and sliced onions.

Sides, Wraps, And Accompaniments

The meat needs its leafy greens and sides, so make sure to include lettuce leaves or perilla leaves for wrapping grilled meats. Into each wrap, guests can add rice, a piece of grilled meat, ssamjang, a slice of garlic or chilli, and enjoy a perfect bite-sized parcel. Offer plenty of steamed white rice, too.

To make it authentic and balanced, prepare an assortment of banchan (Korean side dishes). These might include kimchi, pickled radish, seasoned spinach, bean sprouts, Korean-style potato salad, and cucumber salad. These small dishes balance the richness of grilled meats.

For variety and vegetarians in the group, make sure to add mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and bell peppers for the grill. You can also add tofu slices, marinated or plain, and lightly oil them so they grill nicely without sticking. 

Grilling Order And Tips

If there are vegetarians on the guest list, their fare goes on the grill first, unless you have separate barbecue places for them. 

Moving on to the meat, to keep flavours clean and avoid mixing marinades too early, start by grilling the plain pork belly (samgyeopsal) and other unseasoned cuts first. This helps build the grill’s flavour without burning marinades. Then move on to the marinated pork and chicken, which are stickier and bolder. Seafood like prawns and squid should be grilled near the end, as they cook quickly and can absorb other flavours easily.

Make sure to cut meat into bite-sized pieces on the grill using tongs and scissors. This helps guests eat directly from the grill without needing to cut on their plates. Always ensure proper heat control – medium-high is ideal to caramelise the marinades without burning them.

Korean BBQ Is Your K-Drama Moment

Korean BBQ is a sensory experience, and assuming you have a grill at home, it’s the perfect use of the equipment and your weekend. It's where smoky, charred pork belly meets fermented condiments and fresh leafy greens that fill up your belly and soul. There's more than enough variety in one barbecue experience to keep every bite interesting and every plate full.