Korean Job Discussion Forums

[trevorcollins]

...is it just straight up galbi....?

[tzechuk]

Bul = fire

Galbi = rib

[kangnamdragon]

spicy kalbi

[trevorcollins]

[tzechuk]

It's not spicy... it's just marinated, which COULD be spicy, I guess.

[canadian_in_korea]

My husband and I went to some kind of kalbi restaurant...I don't even know where it is...we went to see "Umoja" when it was here and then we walked to the restaurant...hahaha...I'm terrible are directions.. Anyway....if this was "bulkalbi"...then they named it appropriately....I'm surprised that I didn't spit fire..and I only ate 3 tiny pieces of meat. My lips burned for an hour after we finished... Now I'm not claiming to be able to eat really hot foods...but I can eat any kind of kimchi there is...I haven't found one too hot yet...my husband is from Jeonju and the food his mom makes is quite spicy....but never in my life have I had anything like that kalbi!.. AND my husband then told me that we only had the regular...there was one hotter than what we ate.. ...I actually started to worry that he might have a heart attack or something when I looked at him he was sweating more than if he was in a sauna....then I looked around....and sure enough everyone in the place was sweating buckets. If its the same stuff I had....prepare for the worst...then if you don't find it that bad...it will be a pleasant, enjoyable meal....if not....drink milk....

[chronicpride]

If you walk into a place that is selling bulgalbi, more often than not, it won't be the spicy version.

The reason why this is confusing is the use of the word 'bul' which means fire. But, as in bulgogi and bulgalbi, the 'bul' is traditionally being used here as 'roasted'. The recent popularity of 'buldak' and 'bulsamgyeopsal' restaurants where 'bul', is implying spicy, makes things a little tricky. If you are going into a restaurant that has bulgogi, bulgalbi, samgyeopsal, and other common fare on it, it's probably not spicy. If they have pictures of gochu peppers on the door and there is a lot of use of red in their signage, then, there's a good chance that you'll be getting something spicy.

[Drakoi]

ask this question. "nohmoo mepayo?" which litteraly means 'is it too hot?'

[tzechuk]

Nohmoo= very

mepayo (although I doubt this is the right spelling..) = spicy

[chronicpride]

Mebda is the dictionary form of spicy. When conjugated into a verb, it is actually 'maewoeyo'. So just ask '(food) maewoeyo?', if it is spicy or not.

[Drakoi]

[gi66y]

If you ask �ʹ� �ſ���? (noh-moo-mae-wo-yo?), it kind of implies that you don't like spicy food at all. So, then if it's even a little bit spicy, you can be sure that the ajumma will look at you (as a foreigner) and decide that yes, it will be too spicy for you (because foreigners dont like spicy food, haven't you heard) and answer, "Yes."

You're better to ask (as Chronic Pride suggests) �ſ���? (mae-wo-yo?) Is it spicy? because it doesn't suggest whether or not you want spicy food and you can judge by their reaction how spicy it might be.

(�ʴ�) Spicy doesn't mean spicy/hot?...never heard that before.

[chronicpride]

[Swiss James]

bulgalbi is also the stuff you see in supermarkets where there's a huge heap of meat, some vegetables (spring onions, maybe a few peppers) in a thin, dark marinade.
Usually there's someone giving out free samples of the stuff, and it's made from pork or beef.

[gi66y]