Korean barbecues have become an incredibly popular dining experience as the world has become increasingly globalized. We’re not restricted to Chinese, Italian, and Indian restaurants anymore. There’s Thai, Nepalese, Moroccan options, and many more, including Korean.
Make your own Korean bbq at home. My recommendation is this electric grill from Amazon.
Korean barbecue is an offshoot of that. Korean Barbecue, or Gogigui, meaning “meat roast,” is the Korean method of roasting meats, such as beef, pork, and chicken. These dishes are prepared at the table, usually cooked over gas or charcoal grills built into the table.
Varieties of Korean Barbecue
Bulgogi is the most popular representative of Korean barbecue, and it’s made from beef sirloin or tenderloin, thinly sliced and marinated.
Galbi is made from beef ribs, also marinated, and it too is a popular Korean barbecue dish. These are only two dishes of the Korean barbecue method, which includes many types of meat, marinated or not, and can be broken into a number of categories. It’s a highly popular dish in Korea and one that’s expanding and developing rapidly in many other countries as well.
Bulgogi Method
Bulgogi is traditionally marinated in soy sauce, sugar, garlic, pepper, and sesame oil. Although pan frying has become a popular method for the cooking process, traditionally bulgogi is cooked on perforated dome griddles that sit on braziers or by using gridirons.
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Galbi Method
Galbi uses a marinade of soy sauce, garlic, water, sugar, and onions. This tastes best when grilled with charcoal. The ribs take on a delicious smoky flavor when grilled on charcoal, and wooden chips have also become a popular choice for this same reason, as they offer a slightly different sort of smokiness.
Other varieties
Unmarinated varieties include chadolbegi, which is made from finely sliced beef brisket. It cooks almost instantly when it makes contact with the hot pan. Samgyeopsal are thicker strips of unsalted pork belly. This is a fatty cut of meat that is delicious and tender. It’s more popular in Korea because pork prices are much lower there. Deungshim, from loins, and boneless ribs are also very popular types of gogiguli that aren’t marinated.
The Best Indoor Grill for Korean Barbecue
Many people have adopted the Korean barbecue into their home. It makes for a brilliant dinner party and gives you a chance to demonstrate your culinary prowess in front of your adoring pals. That said, what’s the best indoor grill for a Korean barbecue?
The Iwatani Korean BBQ Stone Grill Stovetop Barbecue is a great grill you can use indoors for hosting a Korean barbecue party. It features an agalmatolite stone plate, the traditional stone used by Koreans.
The meat cooks perfectly on the infrared radiation that comes from the plate. The plate absorbs oil, so you get truly smoky and delicious meat from the charcoal beneath.
Most importantly, it’s a smokeless grill, making it perfect for indoor use. An inner ring just beneath the grill will catch oil, which prevents smoke from engulfing the room.
More Awesome Options
Want more choices? Look no further. Below you’ll find everything from traditional Korean barbecue grills to awesome everyday indoor grills that can be used for everything from burgers to barbecue.
: CookKing Master Grill Pan
This grill pan from CookKing checks off all the boxes. It has a nonstick titanium coating, which makes serving and cleaning super easy. It’s also extremely durable due to this material. The built-in fat and grease draining innovation make this an extremely healthy option too. The grilling surface is about 15 inches in diameter, so not a bad size. Who likes fatty Korean barbecue? Not me, that’s for sure.
You can use this tabletop grill with a gas stovetop or on your outdoor charcoal grill for some added grilling space. It’s a very versatile buy. It’s also made in Korea, so it’s very authentic.
New House Indoor Electric Classic Plate Barbecue Grill – Electric Korean BBQ
New House also makes an awesome indoor bbq grill that can be used for Korean barbecue, although it is sold as a regular indoor/outdoor grill.
It comes in at 23 by 16 by 2 inches, making it a convenient size for any kitchen. It has convenient features like temperature adjustment (everything from just keeping food warm to searing large pieces of meat) and a nonstick drip tray to collect any fatty drips off of the food.
Beyond that, this grill also has cool to the touch handles and base for easy and safe cooking and transportation. It also has a great warranty, so you can’t go wrong with this buy.
Best Electric Korean BBQ Grill : Zojirushi EB-CC15 Indoor Electric Grill
One other amazing indoor grill that can be used to make awesome Korean bbq is the Zojirushi Indoor Electric Grill.
It’s slightly smaller than my previous recommendation, so it’s perfect for smaller spaces like apartments or condos, or if you just don’t want your indoor grill to take up too much space in your kitchen. It measures about 13 by 19 by 3 inches, and also actually disassembles for easy cleaning and storage.
It has heat controls and also features stay-cool handles and base. The drip tray is dishwasher safe, and it is highly rated by users at Amazon. Check it out!
Authentic Korean Grill Barbecue at Home
For a truly authentic experience, you should find an old or disused table and cut a hole big enough to fit the Iwatani grill into. You can cook at the table with your friends, and everyone can enjoy and engage in the experience together.
Check out Cave Tool Grill Tongs at Amazon
Side Dishes
If cooking Korean barbecue at home, you should think of some authentic side dishes to go with your meats.
Check out Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking: Authentic Dishes for the Home Cook at Amazon
Pajeori is a green onion salad that often accompanies gogigui, along with a selection of fresh vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumber, and peppers. In Korea, the popular way to eat barbecue is to wrap the meat in a lettuce leaf and add other salads to it, such as pajoeri or ssamjang, a hot paste made from a mix of doenjang and gochujang.
Korean BBQ Grill at Restaurants
At the best Korean barbecue restaurants, the chef will cook for you at your table. This sets the whole atmosphere of eating Korean barbecue. Some places will give you the option to cook for yourself, but unless you’ve done it a few times before, you should relax and let the professionals do their job.
Hot pot is the method of cooking in a broth or soup liquid. Mu Kratha is the Thai version of hot pot that originated with korean bbq style eating.
Next, you’ll need to consider the drinks that accompany the meal. It is quite popular for Korean barbecue restaurants to have a BYOB policy. Many offer this and also provide Korean drinks at their own bars, such as Hite and OB. These are two beers some refer to as the “Coors of Korea.”
Why not try Soju, which is like a sweet, mild vodka? Then there’s Makgeolli, a milky, white unfiltered rice brew. It is also popular in Korea, though not traditional, to play drinking games at barbecues. This adds a jovial and inclusive atmosphere to the meal.
Best indoor grill for burgers? We checked them all out.
If you love BBQ of all sorts, be sure to check out some of my many recipes. Learn how to cook baby back ribs in the oven.
Read this article on the best BBQ appetizers to really set the tone for a great party.
Summer is a great time to throw a luau! See how to roast a succulent pig in the ground. Throw in a couple homemade margaritas from the best margarita machine, add in the perfect margarita mix, and you’ll have an event to remember.
Image credit via Flickr Creative Commons: Thomas S. Mike and Glen M.
