We had a meetup to celebrate the arrival of spring with a barbecue at Nanji Campground. Barbecues are fun, sure, but the prep is such a hassle. I could never pull one off alone; it takes a group of ten-plus before I can even attempt it, and this time the chance came along. The weather was nice and not too cold, either.
Delicate hands making skewers
On your own you could hardly manage something like this. Coming out to have fun and still doing the cooking, now that is self-sacrifice!!
We kicked off with scallops..
Bought at Noryangjin, and they look absolutely gorgeous.
Then we grilled some abalone too.
Who knew half-grilled abalone could taste this good.. The run of dishes you rarely get outside a barbecue keeps going.
Green salad and homemade dressing
One of our group has a cooking license, so even the dressing was homemade. What a luxurious BBQ!
Beef
Trimmed on the spot. They said it was wagyu, though it may not actually be from Japan.. The marbling is fantastic. Meat of this level is not easy to find in Korea. I guess being a gourmet BBQ is what made it possible to source.
Grill it over the coals like this
and just slice and eat.
The asparagus is a palate cleanser.
Next up, big pork ribs
Pretty rugged. Pork ribs this good are not easy to come by either, everyone here is seriously resourceful.
Finally, prawns
We drank all kinds of booze too, and my stomach is already about to burst.
Ramyeon in a seafood broth
Is finishing with ramyeon a gourmet BBQ tradition.. Somehow it ended up a bit soggy. Still, it was packed with hearty ingredients and the broth was amazing.
A group that eats together regularly is really fun. Gather ten or more people and the level of ingredients jumps right up. That is the whole point of a gourmet club. The more people there are, the harder it gets to meet up, but I hope gatherings like this keep happening as often as possible. Come to think of it, it is spring now..