Gui (food) facts for kids

Gui
Galbi, a variety of gui
Quick facts for kids Korean name
Hangul	구이
Revised Romanization	gui
McCune–Reischauer	kui

In Korean cuisine, gui (pronounced "goo-ee") is a popular grilled dish. It often features meat or fish as the main ingredient. Sometimes, it can also be grilled vegetables or other plant-based foods. The word gui comes from the Korean verb gupda (굽다), which means "to grill."

At traditional Korean restaurants, gui is a fun experience. Meats are cooked right at the center of your table! They use a special charcoal grill. Around the grill, you'll find many small side dishes called banchan and bowls of rice. Once the meat is cooked, it's cut into smaller pieces. You can then wrap it in fresh lettuce leaves. People often add rice, thinly sliced garlic, ssamjang (a yummy sauce made from gochujang and dwenjang), and other seasonings. The word gui is sometimes left out of the name for meat dishes, like galbi. Its full name used to be galbi gui.

Types of Gui: Delicious Grilled Dishes

Koreans enjoying grilled meat and alcohol in the 18th century

Godeungeo gui

Songi gui (송이구이), grilled matsutake in Korean cuisine

Meat Gui: Grilled Meats

Grilled meat dishes are known as gogi gui (고기구이). Here are some popular ones:

• Bulgogi (불고기): This means "fire meat." It's thinly sliced beef. The beef is marinated in a sweet and savory sauce. This sauce usually has soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, and green onions. It's often cooked on a grill, sometimes right at your table. You can also find bulgogi made with pork (dweji bulgogi), chicken (dak bulgogi), or even squid (ojingeo bulgogi).
• Galbi (갈비): These are pork or beef ribs. They are cooked on a metal plate over hot charcoal. The meat slices are thicker than bulgogi. Galbi is often called "Korean barbecue" along with bulgogi. It can be seasoned with a sauce or served plain. A chicken version is called dak galbi.
• Samgyeopsal (삼겹살): This is unseasoned pork belly. It's cut into thick slices. You cook it the same way as galbi. Sometimes, people grill kimchi alongside the pork. It's often eaten with garlic and onions, dipped in ssamjang, and wrapped in lettuce leaves.
• Dakgui (닭구이): This simply means grilled chicken.
• Saengchi gui (생치구이): This is grilled pheasant meat.

Naejang Gui: Grilled Offal

Gui made from pig or cow intestines is called naejang gui (내장구이).

• Makchang gui (막창구이): This is grilled pork large intestines. It's prepared like samgyeopsal and galbi. It often comes with a light doenjang sauce and chopped scallions. This dish is very popular in the Daegu area.
• Gopchang gui (곱창구이): This is similar to makchang. However, it's made from the small intestines of pork or ox.

Saengseon Gui: Grilled Seafood

Gui made with fish is called saengseon gui (생선구이), which means "grilled fish." Grilled shellfish are known as jogae gui (조개구이).

• Jangeo gui (장어구이): Sliced and roasted eel. It's often cooked with gochujang (spicy chili paste) or ganjang (soy sauce).
• Gomjangeo gui (곰장어구이): Similar to jangeo gui. But for this dish, pike eel is cooked whole. It's prepared right after it's killed, so it might still move on the grill!
• Godeungeo gui (고등어구이): Grilled mackerel.
• Jogi gui (조기구이): Grilled croaker fish.
• Garibi gui (가리비구이): Grilled scallops.
• Daeha gui (대하구이): Grilled Chinese white shrimp.
• Jeonbok gui (전복구이): Grilled abalone.

Vegetable and Mushroom Gui

• Dubu gui (두부구이): Grilled tofu cut into rectangles.
• Deodeok gui (더덕구이): Grilled deodeok (a root vegetable, Codonopsis lanceolata).
• Beoseot gui (버섯구이): Grilled mushroom.
  • Songi gui (송이구이): Grilled matsutake mushrooms.
• Gim gui or guun gim (김구이 or 구운 김): Grilled gim (nori), which is a type of seaweed.

See also

In Spanish: Güi para niños