Eat galbi like a pro
So you finally know what galbi is, and perhaps you just tasted one for the first time recently. But do you actually know how to eat galbi the Korean way? Don’t get us wrong – you can eat it anyway you want (we promise we won’t judge), and there’s really no perfect method to eat it. But it would still be cool to know how Koreans actually eat it, and frankly, there’s no one else to best learn it than from Koreans themselves. So let’s get started!
Pro-tip #1: Don’t only order food for yourself
One of the best characteristics of a typical Korean meal is its communal nature – you share the food that you’re about to partake with everyone else. So whenever you’re with your Korean friends, always do your best to order food that you know that the rest will also enjoy. The more people involved, the merrier the dining experience will be! Another tip is that when you order in a Korean restaurant, don’t go all out immediately with your orders as if you haven’t eaten for a thousand years. Only order dishes that you think you can finish, and then you order again when you feel that you still want to eat. Remember: wasting food is a big no-no!
Pro-tip #2: Wrap that galbi!
So we’re sure that you now know that Koreans use their greens like lettuce or cabbage to wrap their galbi. Some people prefer to put only their meats in their wraps, but some also add other sides like garlic, rice or even kimchi to increase their galbi’s flavour and texture. So you do whatever you want to do! However, one noticeable practice among Koreans when eating their galbi is that they put their wraps into their mouths on one go. They don’t bite it piece by piece – they just eat it as a whole! When you think about it, doing this will actually make eating galbi more pleasurable because of the explosion of flavour that will happen in your mouth!
Pro-tip #3: Grill your kimchi and garlic
For a more savoury burst of flavour, grill your kimchi and garlic using sesame oil before you put these two in your galbi wrap. You can of course opt to not touch the garlic if you don’t want your breath to have that strong garlick-y smell.
Pro-tip #4: Don’t miss out on the Naengmyeon or Doenjang jjigae
If you really want to eat galbi like a true Korean, then don’t hesitate to try Doenjang jjigae (soy bean paste stew) or Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles). You might feel that eating either these two dishes is already a bit too much after all those wraps, but Koreans in general don’t feel that their galbi eating experience is complete if they don’t eat the noodles or stew.
There you go! I’m sure that you all have some galbi eating experiences or other pro-tips to share, so feel free to let us know everything down on the comments section below!
