Sky looking a bit grey lately? The haze has been rough on Singapore, and on Malaysia and Indonesia too. Back in Korea, when the air gets dusty, people have a simple answer: go eat samgyeopsal (Korean grilled pork belly) and "wash the dust out of your throat."
At CheongDamChae in Telok Ayer, we grill naengsam (pork belly, naengdong samgyeopsal) made from Duroc pork, sliced 4.5mm thick, on a cast iron griddle with no foil.
Does pork belly really clear your throat?
Honestly, science hasn't backed this one up. But plenty of Koreans believe it anyway. In spring, when yellow dust blew in from the west, and on days spent at dusty construction sites, people would end the day with a piece of pork belly and a glass of bitter soju. It was cheap, it was filling, and it closed out a hard day. Superstition or not, that's the memory behind the saying.
What does a haze-day dinner look like here?
Take off your mask, grab a seat, and let the naengsam do its thing on the cast iron. As it cooks, the fat runs to the edge of the griddle. Put kimchi and bean sprouts there, like in the photo, and they cook in that fat too. More on that in our naengsam griddle story.
We can't promise the dust goes anywhere. But after a grey day, a hot piece of pork belly does help.
Prices
Naengsam (naengdong samgyeopsal) 1kg $68.80++ / 600g $48.80++
CheongDamChae · 123 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068592 · Open daily 11:00–23:30 (last order 22:30)