Korean BBQ 101

It's a gift and a curse... being the "Korean friend" to many non-Koreans. I won't discuss what the "gift" aspect is, but let's explore the "curse".

Last weekend, a group of my non-Korean friends were out in K-town and lost the Korean friend they were out with (that's a whole other story). Long story short, the night involved me on the phone with their server at a Korean BBQ joint, ordering the food for them via telephone, the server laughing at me/them/the situation, and me BACK on the phone with her later asking why she had delivered a plate of mushrooms to the table. (it ended up being compliments of the kitchen). I love these guys and was happy to do this for them but I've had many similar experiences before.

So, I'm dedicating my first real blog entry to a tutorial on Korean BBQ so that my non-Korean friends who read this will become K-BBQ experts and ORDER ON THEIR OWN!

Here, you will learn the "what to order", "where to go", "what those funky looking dishes are", and "why the servers are so mean" theories, plus other fun and useful tips.

Let's start with the what to order:

In Korea, beef is scarce and expensive. Pork is the more popular choice of meat, since it is abundantly more affordable. Koreans can cook you up a mean pork, and my favorite is the unmarinated, unsalted bacon called "Sam-gyup-sal (삼겹살)". It's usually served with lettuce leaves, which are used as wraps for the meat.

But, when most Americans think of K-BBQ, they think of the juicy strips of marinated (or unmarinated) short-ribs ("Galbi"(갈비)). Ironically, in Korea, this dish is called "LA Galbi" because the cut of the meat was first imported into Korea from L.A. Besides, I've had the dish in Korea and it's much better in LA.

Another favorite cut of mine is the "Chadol baki (차돌박이)", which is thinly sliced brisket, unmarinated. This cut has more fat but it's easy to chew because it's so thin. It goes great dipped into some sesame oil and salt, with a piece of roasted garlic. It tastes even better after a shot of cold soju.

These 3 cuts are usually the ones I order when I go K-BBQ'ing, so if you stick to these, you'll be fine. If you want to explore more, try the Bulgogi (불고기), marinated thinly sliced beef and Dweji-bulgogi (돼지불고기), spicy thinly sliced pork.

An important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of K-BBQ is the side-dishes ("ban-chan") that comes with meat. These smaller side-dishes can include everything from potato salad, glass noodles, pickled this, pickled that, etc. The key to a successful KBBQ session is to indulge, but not overly, in these side dishes so that you can enjoy different flavors and textures and create fun combinations to go with the meat. The best combo is, of course, a slice of kimchi and a piece of meat. Never fails.

Now, onto the "where":

My favorite is Park's BBQ. Besides liking the name, the reason it's my favorite is that it has very good quality meat, including Kobe beef, and great portions. The environment is non-descript, just white walls with some beer and soju ads, but still VERY clean in KBBQ standards. Good for big parties, except it is a very family-friendly restaurant, so it's a bit awkward to be "that group" while a family with young children are sitting at the next table.
Park's BBQ: 955 S Vermont Ave # D, Los Angeles, CA 90006

The trend in Ktown seems to be the all-you-can-eat KBBQ places. When I find a good one, I'll post it, but so far, I have not been impressed. I'd rather pay a little more and get better quality meat. If you insist on going to an AYCE place, I'd recommend Tahoe Galbi at 3986 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA. It's very big and loud so this is a great place to be "that group" and the food and service are good for the price ($18/person for all the meat you'd like).

Speaking of service...

Korean restaurants have the widespread reputation of having bad service. And it's mainly because the servers are RUDE. One can argue that it adds to the experience of KBBQ'ing, but as the "Korean friend" I feel embarrassed when a Korean server blatantly dismisses/forgets/ignores our table's requests for service. In their defense, however, they are dealing in large part with a Korean clientele, who are in my opinion, the most demanding and rude patrons, so it's only natural the servers are just as rude. So, point is, don't take it personally nor be offended. The KBBQ fumes have gotten to them and eventually you'll get the water refill you asked for 10 minutes ago...

So there you have it. That's Korean BBQ in a nutshell. Happy grilling!

CAUTION: your clothes/hair/body/breathe will REEK of Korean BBQ for the rest of the day/night, so be mindful of your activities after eating it. IE, don't get on a 5-hour flight after a KBBQ dinner (like my friend did). That's enough to make your seat-neighbor bust open the emergency door for a wiff of fresh air... which is never good thing at 2,000 miles above ground.