Saeu-gui

Large whole shrimp grilled shell-on until the shells crisp and turn orange, served with a citrus soy dipping sauce.

Saeu-gui, grilled shrimp, is one of the most pleasurable items to cook at a Korean tabletop grill, the shells blistering and turning an incandescent orange while the shrimp inside steam in their own moisture and develop a sweetness that pre-peeled shrimp can never achieve. The Korean preference is to grill the shrimp whole and shell-on — including the head — so that the natural juices are sealed inside during cooking, to be released in a burst when the diner bites through the shell. The prawns most prized for grilling are the large white shrimp caught in the southern Korean Sea and the tiger prawns farmed along the Yellow Sea coast, both of which are substantial enough to develop meaningful char marks during cooking. In Boryeong and Seocheon on the western coast, where salt and seafood culture intertwine, grilled shrimp is a staple item at the mudflat seafood restaurants that serve the day's catch directly to diners seated on traditional wooden floors. The dipping sauce varies regionally — lemon soy in the eastern coast tradition, gochujang-vinegar in the southwestern tradition — but the cooking method remains consistent. Children across Korea learn early the skilled manoeuvre of shell-peeling with chopsticks that marks an experienced seafood eater.