Samgyeopsal

Samgyeopsal
samgyeopsal (pork belly)
Korean name
Hangul	삼겹살
Hanja	三겹살
Revised Romanization	samgyeopsal
McCune–Reischauer	samgyŏpsal

Samgyeopsal (삼겹살; Korean pronunciation: [sʰamɡjʌps͈al]) is a popular Korean dish that is commonly served as an evening meal. It consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. The meat, usually neither marinated nor seasoned, is cooked on a grill at the diners’ table. Usually diners grill the meat themselves and eat directly from a grill. It is typically served with ssamjang (Korean: 쌈장), vegetables, and lettuce leaves to wrap it in.

The literal meaning of the word is “three (sam; Korean: 삼（三）) layered (gyeop; Korean: 겹) flesh (sal; Korean: 살)”, referring to what appears to be three layers that are visible in the meat. One can also find ogyeopsal (Korean: 오겹살), with o meaning “five”.

According to a 2006 survey by Agricultural Cooperatives in Korea (Korean: 농업협동조합), 85% of South Korean adults surveyed stated their favorite pork is samgyeopsal. The survey also showed 70% of recipients eat the meat at least once a week. The high popularity of samgyeopsal makes it one of the most expensive parts of pork. South Korea imports wholesale samgyeopsal from Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries for the purpose of price stabilization as imported pork is much cheaper than domestic.

The South Korean government planned to import 70,000 t of samgyeopsal with no tariff in the second half year of 2011. Thus, importation of samgyeopsal was expected to expand.

Samgyeopsal is popularly consumed both at restaurants and at home, and also used as an ingredient for other Korean dishes, such as kimchi jjigae.