Sam Gyup Sal

This is my FAVORITE food of all time. There is nothing that I can possibly think of that tops this. Sam gyup sal (literally, three layer meat) is a lesser appreciated member of the Korean BBQ family. Of course, Kalbee (marinated beef ribs) and Bulgoki (barbeque beef) are the ones most people are familiar with. Those are the ones that most people, especially Westerners, tend to enjoy the most. And yah, they're great. But I have a special place in my heart and tummy for Sam gyup sal. My parents know this, and they make this on the first night I'm home when I visit for the weekend.

Sam gyup sal is the same cuts of pork that bacon is made from. But instead of being sliced thin and smoked, sam gyup sal is uncured, unsmoked, and sliced quite a bit thicker than bacon. We get this from local Korean (or otherwise Asian) markets. You can't really find this at your nearest Kroger.
The best way to cook it is on a stone grill. Every Korean family that is a self-respecting Korean family has a stone grill to place on their dining table. It is usually operated by a propane gas bottle. Both the stone grill and the propane gas bottles can be found in Korean markets.

The best things to eat sam gyup sal with are 1) salt pepper sesame oil dip, and 2) pa muchim (green onion salad).

1) Salt Pepper Sesame Oil Dip: combine those three ingredients in a small condiment dish. DONE.
2) Pa Muchim (Green Onion Salad): First, wash an entire package of green onions. This is most likely still not gonna be enough. That is, if my dad is eating with you. Otherwise, you're safe. slice some green onions lengthwise so you get long, thin strips. We even have a special cutter designed specifically to cut green onions this way.So after you run this baby through the green onion, you get this:Then you add the following:
-2 tbsps of sesame oil
-salt
-red pepper flakes
-toasted sesame seedsMix it around. DONE.

Okay. Everyone with me so far? I know there are a lot of things to keep in mind. This is the way that Korean food is, and unfortunately, this is one of the simplest of Korean foods to make. Seriously. And this is just the main dish. Along with bap (rice), which is always, ALWAYS present.
Okay, so to cook the meat, you first want to cut it into smaller pieces, like my lovely assistant is doing here:Haha. That's my mom. And then you lay the pieces down on the stone grill:And then you just let it do its thing. Mmmm sizzle.
I'm just SALIVATING at this point. Just looking at these pictures.

Okay. The other thing you want to have on hand are leaves of lettuce. Red leaf lettuce works best, but we often use romaine because it's cheaper and easier to find in the regular food market. Also, grilling cloves of garlic straight on the grill is an excellent idea. Behold this monster:
So, here's how it all comes together. Grab a leaf of lettuce, dip your sizzling piece of meat--straight off the stone grill--into the salt/pepper/sesame oil dip, and then pile some green onion salad on there. See this?
Fold it over and eat it. Welcome to your new life.

I have no further pictures, as i had to throw aside my camera and eat to my heart's content. Haha i make a sucky food blogger cuz i'm always in such a hurry to eat the food that i just snap a few pics and get on with it. I hope you enjoy.