Grilled pork belly (Samgyeopsal-gui) is an extremely popular Korean BBQ dish. Because the cooking and eating is done at the table, it’s really social and a great party food. It’s also pretty simple to make, and because everyone pretty much helps themselves it’s easy to serve, too.
Nobody can resist the taste of samgyeopsal gui! When your guest eats the pork belly with garlic, green onion salad and ssamjang in a fresh lettuce leaf, they’ll be instantly hooked! And if you, or one of your guests, is a vegetarian, you can grill king oyster mushrooms instead of meat. Samgyeopsal-gui is usually served with a lot of vegetables, so in general it’s a well-rounded meal.
I filmed this video in LA with my friend Jimmy Wong. I hope you enjoy it a lot and plan a grilled pork belly party with your family and friends.
Ingredients
(for 4 servings)
3 pounds of pork belly (fresh or pre-sliced frozen)
Green onion salad (pajeori):
- 14-16 green onions (about 5 cups), sliced thinly
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
Doenjang-gochujang dipping sauce (my special kind of ssamjang I make for samgyeopsal-gui):
- ¼ cup doenjang
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoon gochujang
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Vegetables:
- 1 bunch of lettuce, washed and drained
- 2 dozens of perilla leaves (optional), washed and drained
- 2 carrots, cut into bite size sticks
- 1 English cucumber, cut into bite size sticks
- 7-8 green chili peppers, chopped
- a dozen of raw garlic, sliced
- 1 large onion, cut across into ¼ size pieces
Directions
- Slice pork belly into bite sized pieces. Put it on a large plate and keep it in the refrigerator.
Make green onion salad
- Soak shredded green onion in cold water for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain.
- Combine soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, and hot pepper flakes in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Portion the green onion into small serving bowls, and put some sauce on top of each. Set aside.
Make ssamjang (dipping sauce)
- Combine soybean paste, hot pepper paste, sugar, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, and toasted sesame oil in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Prepare vegetables:
From the left: onion, garlic, green chili peppers, cucumber, carrot, and perilla leaves
How to cook:
- Heat up your grill plate or pan. Put a little toasted sesame oil on the hot plate for flavor.
- Cover the grill plate with pork belly. Grill them and turn them over when the bottoms get a little crispy. Keep cooking and turning them over until both sides are crispy.
- As the pieces get ready to eat, take them off the grill and put them on a small side plate. People can take the pieces from this plate, or if they’re too hungry they can take them right off the grill!
- Eat, but keep cooking!
Doenjangjjigae (Korean fermented bean paste stew: 된장찌개)
Kongnamulmuchim (Soybean sprout side dish: 콩나물무침)
How to eat:
- Put a piece of lettuce on a plate or in your hand. Add a piece of perilla leaf and a piece of cooked pork.
- Add ssamjang, cooked onion or garlic, and some green onion salad on top.
- Fold the lettuce leaf over so you have a little package.
- Pop it into your mouth in one shot. Don’t bite it in half, it will break open! One-shot!
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
I used this approach for bulgogi and made your bean sprout banchan/salad and the green onion salad/pajori to go with it. It was SO good! My boyfriend and dad [a fussy meat & potatoes guy] both ate it up, and we’ve eaten the pajori and beansprouts several times since. :} Thank you for all the informative recipes, Maangchi! It’s fun learning about korean cuisine through your videos and website, I’m glad you share your knowledge with us all!
I think the ssamjang is what makes this dish for me! My grandmother used to make it, but after she passed away I just bought at store. One day my mom gave me some homemade ssamjang her friend had made, but she added a special ingredient – pineapple! She gave me a lot so it took a while to eat it all but it was the best ssamjang, almost better than my grandmas ^_^
hi maangchi…
i really want to try this samgyeopsal..
i want to make it. but, is the ingredients are not much expensive right?
Its not even close to the cost of Bulgogi. Pork is much cheaper than beef afterall :)
I made it a couple of weeks ago and I guess I payed about 20dollars for 4 persons.
maanchi! i made this recipe, and it was absolutely AMAZING! good thing i made it all for myself because I wouldn’t have wanted to share =D
ooh whoo! Good news!
Hi, i have a korean boyfriend and this is one of his favorite. Im planning to make this for him this coming christmas and for my family also because they never been try this one before..
Im sure this video will help me alot…
Thanks and have nice holiday!!!
Did you make this on Christmas? If so, I’m sure it turned out delicious!
Hi Maangchi!
I’ve been wanting to try out this recipe for awhile, but I can’t find a Korean brand soybean paste anywhere! I was wondering would it be ok if I use Miso paste instead? Would the taste differ dramatically?
Thank you!
@Thuy
Miso paste is not intended for “dipping” as it was intended more for making soup because it has the slight sour taste to it compared to Korean soy bean taste. If you use Japanese miso, you will completely ruin the taste. That’s like using soy sauce inside Vietnamese noodle instead of Sriracha sauce it makes no sense.
im going to make this today for my family for thanksgiving !! my first time making it , im scared the sauces are not going to come out as planned & no one will eat it )):
Thank you for a great posting! I like your video with Andy as well. My husband and I also enjoy Samgyeopsal very much, but we usually have Samgyeopsal at a restaurant. Your video will help us have Samgyeopsal at home. Please check out our Samgyeopsal video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhdDPpXwms0/). You’ll see an American family (my husband’s family) going crazy for Samgyeopsal.
I love samgyeopsal very much. I really enjoy eating this with my boyfriend. ^^ Thanks for all the video. You did a great job ^^
Happy Cooking! : )
Hi Maangchi!
Thanks so much for this recipe. We had this last night for a late Thanksgiving meal (we’re Canadian expats in the UK). We’re so happy to have found the recipe for Ssamjang! We can’t get this in Leeds.
Fantastic site, I’ll be back often!
Thank you. I’m actually a Canadian expat living in USA, but always feel I’m Korean. ; )
Welcome to my website!!
Hi Caleb i’m in Leeds too if you do find a good place for Korean food could you let me know ha ha thanks tlsmichaelcarroll@hotmail.com
Is black hog pork belly good. Zion Market has a sale on that so I might as well use that. I’ve heard its better than regular pork belly.
Thanks for the recipe.
I should probably make this as restaurant samgyeopsal is like $19.00 for the same thing. Zion market has Black hog pork belly and regular pork belly on sale.
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you for this recipe! I am a 2nd generation korean in America, and right now I don’t live near a store that sells the samgyeopsal meat. Do you know what kind of pork meat I can buy at the American grocery store instead?
Ask your butcher “I want pork belly!” : ) I sometimes see pork belly sold in a package at a Western grocery store, too.
I love your recipe. I cooked this for our family party last week. It was fun and Yummy!!! Thanks Maangchi!!
I agree! It’s fun to cook samgyeopsal with friends or family members. It will be strange if one person is cooking samgyeopsal on the grill plate by himself. ; )
Hi Maangchi,
Many thanks from Singapore. I’m Thai and my husband is Singaporean. He love Korean BBQ very much. Korean food is also popular here and a bit expensive out there. I tried your recipe last Saturday. Samgyeopsal gui, beef and pork Bulgogi rock!! Here is my homework :P
From Food5
Congratulation on your successful samgyeopsal gui party!
I prepared this grill pork BBQ and steamboat to celebrate my Mid-Autumn Festival with my family on last sat…wow wow wow, they said it is so delicious as we r in korean restaurant and all wanna to eat this dishes and my steamboat become “side dishes””…thx for ur recipes ..the sauce and another sauce “sesame oil, salt and black pepper”, we all love it so much….
What is steamboat dish? : )
Steamboat means put some chicken/beef/achovy fish stock soup in a
big pot, while soup boils, put in some fish, prawn, vegi, fish ball, chicken, meats….etc, eat while cooked, with some sauces ….. is
a quite common dish among chinese community….Anyway I’m Malaysian chinese, is also common here in Malaysia…
oh, thank you very much! It sounds like “shabu shabu” or hot pot
Dear Maangchi, really love this latest video. Shows how great fun it is cooking together and what a fine recipe, samgyeopsal; funny word if you pronounce it the way we would do, I’m from Holland :)
I visite your site for some time now, learned a lot and getting a little addicted. No better way to relax and get a good feeling than watch your skillfull hands doing the chopping, washing, arranging and preparing those unknown fascinating meals.
And you are so witty!
I’m very happy to hear that!
You are not alone getting addicted some Korean dishes! ; )
Thank you very much!
many thanks from FRANCE.
I’ve already use your recipes for my french friends and they are delighted by korean food.
Hi Maangchi,
I am a fan of you. You did a good job to introduce real Korean food to the world. I have a website http://www.cookinworld.com and have unique visitors. Could you contribute your videos to my website as well?
Best,
David
안녕하세요. 우연히 봤는데 참 좋았어요. 한국인에게나 외국인에게나 삼겹살은 정말 인기있는 메뉴인것같아요. 싫어하는 사람 못봤어요. 언제까지 행복하시길 바래요… (학글로 남겨도 되나 모르겠네요.)
Thank you very much for your nice comment! : )
Maangchi! This recipe is great!! I cook this and jijyangmyun for lunch and dinner. They’re a great treat for me and my sister. Thank you very much!
for lunch and dinner? : ) I’m so happy to hear that.
Omg! Watching this video makes me drool! My sister keeps asking me why did are you watching this video 10x!?
I’ve been craving samgyeopsal so I actually went outside and ate some today >:). Samgyeopsal with some baked kimchi = yum yum.
I will definitely have to try this recipe at home some day, when I find a grill plate!
You could use any frying pan. When you cook it with a frying pan, mop up the fat with paper towel.
THANK YOU MAANGCHI!!! this is the perfect excuse for me to go out to (finally) buy the grill! :)
this is the perfect idea for me to host my dinner party!! :)
thank you for doing this recipe.
I loooove your recipes!! Your website is one of the first sites I check everytime I get on the internet, looking to see what your next recipe is.
Thanks for taking the time to teach us all how to cook!!
I’m from Vietnam but I really like samgyeopsal, I ate this recipe only one time but I like it very much. I will do it for my family. Thanks a lot Ms. Maangchi.
Good luck with your samgyeopsal party with your family!
yahoo!!!!!!!
:]
I have many favorite korean dishes but this is my absolutely favorite. I can really eat this all day if I could. I’m trying this tonight! Thank you!
the best samgyobsal i ever had was in korea at a countryside with some of my friends. it was winter and freezing, but we stepped outisde, made a fire and huddled around. we constructed a grill made from empty beercans and a small piece of a metal fence and threw big manly chunks of meat on it. as a sidedish, we had the hot peppers (the small green ones… never underestimate the small green ones), ssamjang and garlic.
so there we were, freezing, sitting on icy stones around a fire, but the combination of freezing air, clear sunshine, hot pepepper, garlic, hot meat, followed by icy soju and beer made it one of the best culinary experiences i had in my life!!!
I enjoyed this video so much! it put me in a good mood. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. My students made this meal for me one day, and since then Korean food had become part of me and my families life :)
thanks for sharing with us.
I remember tat is another plate of “sauce” look like “oil + salt +…..” May I know wat is tat and how to made while eat with grill pork belly? Thx
: ) yes, it’s just simple sauce. Mix 2 tbs sesame oil,1/2 ts salt, and a pinch of black ground pepper in a bowl.
Thank you very much!!! I ‘ll try it
This looks really fun to eat! (plus very tasty) My friend has a grill plate… i foresee a samgyeopsal gui party in the future!!
Is it usual to have a plate of pork belly only? or do people usually have a selection (like some thin beef as well)?
Regardless, it looks delicious!
Merci beaucoup maangchi!
yes, you could make grilled beef, grilled duck or cook bulgogi with it.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/grilled-beef
UNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!
Ive been waiting for this recipe for so long!!!
Omg im so excited im gonna cook this reallyyyyy soon!!
Im so happy lol you made my day!
I love you maangchi!
I love you, too! ; )
I’m so happy to hear that you were looking forward to this recipe. Now you can have samgyeopsal party with your friends!
Thanks for the new recipy! When i do this in my kitchen i usually switch off the smoke-alarm, because it will be shrieking!
yum! I love eating samgyeopsal in sangchu w/ pajori!
Thank you so much for this recipe Maangchi!