Korean Bacon

Tonight marked a very special event in the Chung household: a new Korean food was introduced to the family.  Samgyeopsal, aka Korean Bacon (pork belly), was made tonight at the request of Dad Chung.  I'd heard of this before but never actually tried it.  


When asked why it took 30+ years to cook it, Mom Chung simply said, "It's too fatty."  Chungs haven't really been into bacon in general.  It took until 2009 for me to actually purchase it and cook it (now I buy it all the time..haha).  


How does one eat Samgyeopsal you ask?  Let's refer to the pic below...

Step 1. Take romaine lettuce (1) 
Step 2. Place a piece of pork belly (2) onto romaine lettuce
Step 3. Place a few slices of sliced/seasoned green onion* on top of meat (3)
Step 4. Top with a dollop of ssamjang** (4)  

The End Result-Yum!

* Green Onion is seasoned with Korean red chili pepper powder, ground sesame seeds, sugar and sesame oil

** Ssamjjang is Korean chili paste + soybean paste (also eaten with other Korean BBQ meats)  

Mom simply prepared the meat on a grill pan on the stove, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.  Unlike bacon, samgyeopsal isn't smoked.  

All Chungs enjoyed this new dish!  Even Milo was a fan of Korean Bacon!  The only thing he's usually interested in at the dinner table is salted seaweed (he's a strange cat).  Def a winner and can't wait to see this at the parent's house in the future!  Sistas def missed out tonight!