Samgyeopsal

Thick-cut pork belly grilled at the table over a hot plate or charcoal, eaten by wrapping a piece of the rendered, crispy-edged meat in a perilla or lettuce leaf with a smear of ssamjang (the fermented soybean-and-chilli paste), a slice of garlic, sometimes raw chilli, sometimes kimchi, sometimes a pinch of rice. The Korean barbecue ritual at its purest — pork fat, char, fermented chilli paste, raw garlic punch, and the cooling-fresh leaf wrapper unifying everything.

Pairs Perfectly

Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New Zealand. The darker-fruited New World Pinot answer with serious weight — Central Otago's structure handles pork belly fat where lighter Pinots disappear, the supple tannin meets char without drying the meat, and the high acid cuts through the fat cleanly while the savoury depth sits alongside ssamjang. A Pinot Noir from Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa offers the same cool-climate New World logic with Cape mineral character at a similar price point.

Pairs Well

Mencía from Bierzo, Spain. The Atlantic-influenced Spanish red brings high acid, supple tannin, and savoury smoke that meets the char beautifully, and the moderate alcohol stays clear of any chilli amplification.

Saint-Joseph, northern Rhone Syrah, France. Peppery, smoky, savoury Syrah meets pork belly char ingredient by ingredient, and the moderate tannin handles the fat without competing with the leaf wrap.

Worth Seeking Out

Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. The Burgundian-style Australian Pinot with red-fruited earth and silky tannin meets pork belly and ssamjang with rare precision, and the discovery sits at the heart of the Asian cuisine New World scan.

Avoid

Oaked wines — react badly with ssamjang fermented-soy character; tannic reds at full extract — clash with the fat and the chilli paste; wines above 13% alcohol — sharpen the chilli; austere dry whites — overwhelmed by pork belly fat at full intensity.

Failing That

An entry-level Crozes-Hermitage.

If All Else Fails

Côtes du Rhône Villages.

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