Chapter Five: In Which We Barbecue!

Last night we had one of our "traditional" Korean barbecues.

While our barbecue differs greatly from a typical one (with charcoal and a real grill) or one in a restaurant (with a barbecue pit and hood), it is still our own little slice of Korean culture.
This is our grill, a small little propane fire with a nonstick griddle on top. We bring straw mats up to the roof, spread them out, put the table on, set up the grill, and all the other necessities. Above is the grill with traditional barbecue cut meat. I believe that this is brisket. We don't marinate our meat before we cook it, and instead, dip it in sauce after it is cooked. The sauce actually isn't soy based, but sesame and garlic. If I were to do a step by step, and I am, above would be "Step 1: put meat on grill."

Step 2: Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Also on the grill we have some potatoes (not sure if this is traditional or just Dinny wanting them) and some kimchi (traditional side served in Korea for breakfast, lunch, and dinner made of various pickled vegetables and a lot of red pepper).

Step 3: Poke it around.
But only flip the meat once! Once it has cooked, cut it up with some scissors to make it more manageable in size. In this shot, you can also see most of the things that go into the barbecue: rice, red pepper paste, sesame dipping sauce, shredded semi-pickled onion, kimchi, cucumber, and mu (no idea how to spell it) which is a pickled radish.

Step 4: Admire and eat some side dishes.

Step 5: Now that the meat is ready, grab some prepared lettuce. Lettuce in Korea generally comes pre-cut and arranged for easy barbecuing. The leaves are stacked like paper. Grab one piece of lettuce, maybe top it with a piece of sesame leaf.

Step 6: Add the mu, dipped meat, maybe some rice...

Step 7: Eat!

Step 8: Relax, it's Friday night barbecue!

Step 9: Have a beer.

Thanks to Arthur for being my barbecue model!

Coming up next week:
Chapter Six: In Which We Examine Artwork or Hilarious Illustrations by Children

And:
Chapter Seven: In Which We Go on a Field Trip

For more information on Korean Barbecue, check out some Do's and Don'ts.
Also, there's always the Wikipedia site on Korean Cuisine.