Pork belly is the boneless cut of fatty meat from the belly of a pig. Koreans love this cut of pork and it’s used often in Korean cuisine.

pork belly

The Korean name – samgyeopsal – literally translated means “3 layers of flesh” and refers to the three layers of meat you can supposedly find in the cut. Korean butchers also offer ogyeopsal (오겹살), where “o” means “five” and has 5 layers of meat and therefore a higher meat-to-fat ratio. Both cuts are similar to bacon except they are uncured and much thicker than the bacon you find in western supermarkets.

samgyeopsal (pork belly)

Recipes that use pork belly (samgyeopsal):

16 Comments:

  1. Is there any beef cut that would be used instead of Pork Belly??? I cannot eat pork cus i cant digest it TT

  2. Skyblueskyler Madison,Wi joined 7/10 & has 2 comments

    Hi Maangchi!
    I was curious about finding Pork belly in long thick strips like the picture above, but I cannot find that anywhere near me. Is it ok to use side pork with this? If not, what is a good replacement for pork belly? I really want to make this recipe with my mom at home. I have made your kimchi chigae but I skipped the pork belly because I didn’t know what I could replace it with.
    Thanks :D

  3. HI Maangchi!
    Can I make the black bean noodles without meat at all?
    Because I don’t eat meat but I am not vegetarian.
    I eat chicken broth and such but I don’t eat visible meat.

  4. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Kizzie,
    yes, saang is sold at a Korean grocery store!

  5. Maangchi,

    DO you know of any place where I could purchase a saang (low table) with folding legs. We had one growing up and I would love to buy one for my family now. I use to enjoy eating dinner that way. It was very traditional for me.

    Thank you
    `Kizzie

  6. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Kizzie,
    You seem to like pork! Sure doejigalbi (pork short ribs) dish will be posted someday in the future.
    Thank you very much.

  7. Hi Maangchi,
    This is such an awesome website. My mom is Korean and my father is african american and we don’t live near eahcother so I don’t have my mother here to help or teach me. Your videos have helped me alot and I am teaching my daughter how to cook and this helps.

    Can you use any other pork besides pork belly? How about short ribs?

    Thanks again,
    ~Kizzie

  8. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Anonymous,
    Yes, some Korean eat dog meat, but I don’t eat it.

  9. sorry maangchi but is it true that koreans eat dog i saw in wikipedia( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_food#Dog )

    is it true

  10. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    I make my dipping sauce for mandu or vegetable pancake by mixing 2 tbs soy sauce and 1 tbs vinegar

  11. thank you i have made mandu without pork it was great with beef is it any dipping sauce so i can dip my mandu?

  12. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,045 comments

    Naveera,
    You can replace pork with beef!

  13. Hi Maangchi Iam FRom Saudi Arabia i am muslim i can’t eat pork or can find any where in my country is any meat that is similar to pork like lamb , camel etc..?

Leave a Reply

You must create a profile and be logged in to post a comment.