As it is a traditional Korean cow, (Han Woo comes from Han: Korean, Woo: Cow) Korea does not allow this particular beef to be exported outside of the country. The beef is strictly regulated in Korea to keep its quality and is exported to only a few countries (I believe one) Hong Kong.
Thank you very much for visiting my offline store and introducing HANWOO. This video provides me a sense of accomplishment at water-aging HANWOO for the last decade. I will continue to support Guga Food in Seoul. Hope to see you again some day :) What’s your next ETA?! 😄🫶✈
My Daughter just Married a Korean and we have our first Grandchild one year later...I am officially Korican...I love their culture, ways, and their Food...I can't wait to go to Korea to show off our Grandson to Our Korean Family and hit all the spots
this has the trappings of a new series. "Guga worldwide" where he toures the world and tries to cook traditional dishes of other countries. I would watch that
It is not illegal to export per se but there is a law against freezing hanwoo for export. Only just recently have they allowed refrigerated exporting. That's why you don't see it anywhere else. As a person who lived in Korea and ate hanwoo mainly, I would say that Wagyu is definitely more tender and buttery but hanwoo has the best beef taste/ flavor by far. It is not too rich or heavy but more umami. Definitely not as tender or melt in your mouth as Wagyu. The taste probably has more to do with the specific grass the cow is fed. Korean soil is red and I am sure it has something to do with the type of grass. Also, the hanwoo market has grown exponentially as with the quality of beef. Even ten years ago, I had to find specific butchers to get the best cuts and quality. Now it's everywhere.
That’s a pretty dumb law when it comes to trade. South Korea could make a huge name for themselves in the beef industry if they allowed export to Western countries, it could be just as popular as wagyu!
@@Sniperboy5551nah, it's not dumb to keep the quality. Nowadays, Wagyu is becoming mainstream and any gullible-type would believe that good beef is said to be Wagyu. Now that's dumb.
As a beef loving Korean, I love both hanwoo and wagyu. Wagyu, you go for the fat. The taste of the fat is amazing and the cooking methods can only be between charcoal or teppan yaki. Hanwoo, on the other hand, is for the red meat. The beefiness of the meat really comes through even if the meat is 1++(9) which has the highest fat content. Also hanwoo is cut entirely differently from American way - for expample chuck is much shorter in Korea than in America. There is no piccanha for hanwoo as well, since we cut it stripped of its fat cap and sell it mostly for yook-hwoe, a chopped raw beef marinated with sweet salty sauce. I really like to buy a chunk of hanwoo and cut it up to portions so I can use it for broth. Boiling hanwoo gives such an amazing beefy broth.
@@Jurk844There are several kinds of fats and they have different flavor profile just like varied cuts of beef do. I think it's more about how they complement and balance each other. If it's all soft fat with a little vein or silver skin, it tastes wonderfully cooked in or seared. It's an acquired taste that you get more and more as you mature and go down the road, unless it's simply is never going to be your preference. I used to cut every square millimeter of fat when I was young and now it seems like I can eat significant amounts of fat if proportion to correctly to the flesh
As a person that tried both Hanwoo and Wagyu, it really depends on the mood. I personally like Hanwoo better because it's super tender but you still get the beef flavor. With A5 Wagyu, it tastes amazing but it's super rich but you're mainly eating fat. A5 Wagyu is probably 40/60 Meat to fat ratio and Hanwoo is like 70/30 Meat to fat ratio.
There are several reasons on why Hanwoo is not exported but the main and the most fundamental reason is that production quantity of hanwoo is fully consumed in Korea. The demand for hanwoo within Korea is higher than total production quantity of Hanwoo. Increasing production is not as easy because the science and methodologies behind producing a high quality hanwoo makes it difficult to implement in an industrial farming setting which could be scaled more readily.
It doesn't make a lot of sense. Why would an exporter not want to sell to the exterior for a HIGHER PRICE and HIGHER profit margin? Price and demand are intertwined. Either there isn't demand on the exterior (wich I doubt) or there is some bureaucracy or politics happening.
@@eJuniorA2 It's definitely a cultural thing for the most part as to why it isn't exported in any sort of quantity. But the main reason it isn't available in the US is there's kind of a mutual import ban on US beef going to Korea for not meeting Korean quality standards, so naturally we got pissy about that and made it next to impossible for Hanwoo to come into the US... Not a ban really, I know, but it is what it is...
There's no way this is actually better than wagyu so nothing lost. If it was actually better the market would find a way to sell it at the highest price possible, like any truly rare and high-quality product.
So happy to see this video. My wife is Korean and each time we visit there, her family take us out to eat HANWOO bbq. I always tried to explain to my friends back in Europe just how amazing it is, and was met with a visible degree of skepticism. Now i will forward all of them this video, which contains the verdict from the OG Himself! Thank you Guga!
@@qwert314oderwat In fact, every single korean man has to complete military service of any sort. Our country is technically still at war with north korea, and military service is mandatory.
@@rafaelpaun1907 Nah man... the korean military system has lots of problems. The soldiers are paid less than the minimum wage written in law, and the social status of them are not very high. Even though young men have to sacrifice two years of their life for the country, there are no bonus points for them to colleges and companies due to the protesting of 'feminism rights'. It is totally crooked. I envy US soldiers who are respected by their citizens. Because of this, politicians and the rich tend to make up imaginary illnesses to evade military service. There are even brokers contacting young men to bad doctors for them to get valuated as not combat-able. Most of our soldiers are not happy with their military service. This, combined with various corruptions on the headquarters, results in our infantry's quality going down. Mandatory military service is not a great idea. I can tell you that.
Seoul is a very densely populated city but unlike Japan there is a lack of farmland area locally due to the weather and mountainous landscape so beef and pork end up costing a lot because there is a high demand for both but less farms able to produce the meat. For this reason at Majang market you will often also see beef from Los Angeles imported there to supplement the local meat supply. Hanwoo is considered the highest quality beef in Korea and since beef is already difficult to produce enough of in Korea they choose to limit the exports to Hong Kong. I visited majang market this prior winter and enjoyed 1++ hanwoo the similarly way as depicted here.
Actually that wasn't 47 dollars, was more like 37 dollars! I was in Korea not long ago and we bought some Hanwoo in this premium supermarket. The guy was happy to see tourists buying their food so he gave us a load extra. For about $20 we had about 600g of premium Hanwoo steak
As a Korean, I highly recommend you to visit a quality Korean style BBQ places. Majang market is maybe a good place for shopping Hanwoo at cheaper price and definitely the best place to feel the atmosphere of old Seoul Korea(not many Koreans go to traditional market these days), but not the best place to enjoy it because they don't serve good quality charcoal and side dishes and so on which leads to less satisfaction. In addition, wet aging is not popular in Korea at all(I doubt I've seen it before?). Korean style bbq restaurants usually serve fresh (or short-term aged in some places) Hanwoo beef. Dry-aged Hanwoo is typically served at western style steak houses which you can find easily in Seoul. IMO, maybe not the Hanwoo itself but the way Koreans enjoy it- Korean style bbq : charcoal grilled thin cut fresh beef - can give you a better understaning of Hanwoo. You can find lots of vides enjoying Korean style bbq on TH-cam and I recommend you to visit one of those places with good quality. I personally enjoy both prime U.S. beef and Hanwoo. I find Hanwoo is more suited for Korean style bbq(due to its marveling - Hanwoo tends to have more intramuscluar fat than U.S. beef and sometimes strong beefy flavor) and U.S. beef is more suited for steak(due to its soft texture and mild flavor) and eventually it comes down to personal preference. In terms of Hanwoo' taste, it is grain-fed beef like U.S. beef(traditionally Hanwoo has been raised grass-fed for hundreds of years). so its beefy flavor is quite different from grass-fed beef. Sometimes I can't stand the flavor of grass-fed beef and I guess many Koreans do. Maybe that's why Koreans love Hanwoo. Here I don't want to claim that Hanwoo has superior quality than wagyu, U.S. beef or beef from another country. Maybe it's just suited for Korean's taste and the way they enjoy it.
The first time I tried hanwoo I was amazed how tender and sweet it was. You barely need any seasoning to make it delicious and the umami was incredible almost on par with A5 Wagyu no cap.
As your Korean follower for a few years, I'm extremely happy that you came to Korea and tried lots of Korean food. As far as I googled, the main reason why Hanwoo beef is not exported is its high price. It is already quite expensive domestically due to high demand and low supply and the price would only get worse if exported. Moreover, as you already spotted, it is not as special as Wagyu and far less known, which makes it almost impossible to justify the price. By the way, the first market you've been is 광장시장 rather than 관장시장. 시장 means a market in Korean and somewhat funnily 관장 just means enema(!) whereas 광장 is a public square. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy the visit!
I've also had Hanwoo in Seoul and I agree that it is a different experience from Wagyu. It's not a question of which one is better because if you pit them against each other, it's like comparing mangoes to oranges. Since you can't get it outside of Korea, it is definitely a must have when you visit, especially Korean bbq style.
I'm sorry I disagree. We comparing satsumas to clementines here. Which taste better, ask 10 steak lovers to do a blind taste test and grade 3 cuts of beef; Hanwoo, Wagyou and lets say Angus. Guga does that, he just has to bring his crew
@@k2411871 The world isn't just black and white. There's plenty of room for Hanwoo, wagyu and USDA prime to exist together and separately. If you were any kind of steak lover, you would know that there's a different steak for each occasion.
@@infn sure but i consider wagyu better or one off occasions. On the flip side, for a good hearty filling meal, id much rather go USDA prime / black angus or whatever.
@@infn it's about content what people like to see. So doing blind taste test where people decide which cut of beef they like makes for good viewing. I only clicked on this video because of the comparison title.
Yet to watch this video, but as a guy who's been living in South Korea over a decade, I can say that Hanwoo overall has quite a decent quality but unsure whether it comes with best value. A bit costly imo. If you expect something unique / rich in fat almost to Wagyu level you'll be disappointed. It's like Irish beef with more fat infused. Lovely quality when it's done in a korean barbecue way - grill or saute on your favourite skillet but I'd always go for good old pork barbecues whenever I'm in Korea.
@@jiimmiij4428 Beef overall in Korea IS NOT CHEAP in the first place. Sooo, you have to consider that. Hanwoo is the premium beef from Korea and for you to say that you can get better value somewhere else is pretty dumb because you are trying to compare Hanwoo that is sold ONLY in Korea. You can't get the same beef in other Countries, although you can try to compare it to Waygu from Japan, or American Waygu which are both very expensive as well. Also, space is limited in Korea and that comes with premium in price for lots of agricultural products including meat, and fruits.
@@1flash3571 yeah exactly you can better deals with meats in other countries. You can get multitude different grade of wagyus as well as high grade prime beef for better bang for buck
You must be dead broke to say hanwoo is overpriced lol. If you go to any kbbq restaurants here in the states, you will typically see $40 to $50 range for 1 person serving. It may be costly for korean nationals living in korea to try hanwoo but not for Americans. And the kbbq meats arent even necessarily prime grade either although they may claim it is prime but you know it's only slightly better than choice by using hand skills and aging. Hanwoo Is at what you would normally pay for a 1 person serving here in the states and is cheaper than steak from steakhouses here.
Guga, I am so happy you were able to go to Korea. We lived there for.4 years and like you found out, the Hanwoo beef is exceptional. Excellent pork and chicken too. I miss the food and Korean people so much. If you get to go again, I'm in!
The way he described it to me is the best of both worlds in steak hanwoo vs wagyu. Certain things need to stay in their specific region or area. For Korea hanwoo is one of them. I've had both also in Korea and Japan.
Nice to see you covering Hanwoo! Hanwoo is actually a product dedicated by a lot of Koreans. There's central government research center as well as local government R&D, while all universities have relevant subject that is popular by students. That much said, it is carried on scientifically, not only by hard working farmers. It is bread to be beefy, but with maximum tenderness without too much fat content. We believe strong fat burning taste is not the best taste of meat.
Wagyu kind of originates from Korea so it is kind of a silly point. Due to the Buddhist influence, Japanese did not eat much meat before Meiji restoration. When they started to eat beef again, they imported Korean cows, primarily from the nearby Jeju island - confirmed with genetic training. That said, the real Wagyu (coming from Japan not the US or Australia) is not too dissimilar from Korean beef.
Wagyu is totally different type of meat. Contrary to what you have commented, scientific evidence of DNA suggests that the origins of cows in Japan and Korea are totally different. The Korean cows are red hair as to the wagyu being black hair. The branding and genetic selection in Korea also began only in 1992, far later than the Japanese wagyu.
The origin of the Japanese Wagyu is not from Korea during the Meiji era but the farm cows which were originally used for cultivating land which its existence pre-dates Christ. DNA check also confirms that the two beef have no connection in race.
Very interesting! I always found it strange how the japanese are open about how much korean influence there is over yakiniku (am i spelling that right?) and wondered why they didn't seem to have their own established barbeque culture, but the historical banning of meat could be one explanation for it.
I had korean food for the first time awhile ago and I was surprised at how hot they serve their food, not spice wise but temp wise. everything served was scorching fresh hot
I've been waiting for you to do a video on hanwoo beef! Also, you need to check out Jeju black pig pork, especially the samgyeopsal (pork belly, literally translated as "three layer flesh). Some say it rivals Iberico jamon.
Korea is my second home. I live there for 15 years and that's where I met my wife and started a family. I am glad you made it to Korea to try some food.
Apparently the reason for Hanwoo beef not being allowed in the US was an outbreak of foot in mouth disease in the early 2000’s in meat exported from South Korea. And according to World Organization of Animal Health, only FMD-free countries can export raw meat overseas. In years since, the herds of Hanwoo have depleted, and only make enough to fill local Korean markets. Some do get shipped to Hong Kong, but mostly stays in Korea. There you go Guga! Love all your channels!!
He loves the meats!!! Also it's that power of youtube cash :) lol. I bet a lot of people actually recognized him walking around. Wish I was a friend of Guga to experience all this with him. :)
Dude look at what he does. HE GETS PAID TO DO THIS!! He’s not only eating well, he’s traveling, checking things off his bucket list all while getting paid to do so. And then to top it off he gets to write it all off for business. I only kick myself in the pants for not thinking of it first!
As an Australian, I genuinely prefer hanwoo over wagyu (even compared to Australian M9 grade) as it has more beef flavour and textures whereas wagyu is just about 'fat'. But unfortunately they are not available in Australia either so I have to fly to Korea for hanwoo everytime I miss the hanwoo taste. Some restaurants there have hanwoo omakase which is highly recommended as you can try different cuts in one meal and they are generally less expensive than sushi omakase haha
Hanwoo is very balanced... The muscle and fat ratio makes it ideal for grilling. Plus, you have the wonderful 'Banchan' (side dishes) to boost the flavor profile.
I’ve always been fascinated by South Korea ever since Best Ever Food Review Show talked about his experience living in SK. It’s such a beautiful country with plenty of wonderful people!
The country is actually a Oligarchy, where corporations have a lot of influence on the government to do things, but what makes them different is that at a lower level they are traditional so they respect their population for the most part unlike Russia.
In my experience Hanwoo reminds me of American Wagyu or some Australian Wagyu. All three of them has a more beefy flavor while being less rich in fat but still being really tender and juicy. Imo wagyu is for special occasions or meant to be eaten in small portions and hanwoo/American/Australian can be eaten in larger quantities as an everyday steak (if you are rich). Both hanwoo and wagyu are good but are in different classes. I can not choose a favorite because all of them taste like heaven.
As a person that has eaten all of the above frequently i would say American and Australian wagyu are not on the same level as hanwoo. Hanwoo is more tender and does have that beefiness that true beef lovers yearn for. I personally prefer hanwoo over wagyu or kobe from japan due to the flavor. Its still more than tender enough and not too rich unlike japanese wagyu. If you guys are ever in Korea this is definitely worth a try even with the price tag it has.
Awesome to see you in South Korea. Would love to see more of this food vlogging travels from you. Looking forward to my trip to South Korea early next year.
I think Hanwoo is probably more suitably cooked as a Steak than Wagyu is. Wagyu should be eaten as thin slices. The thing about Wagyu is the high fat content can be sometimes very overwhelming so you can't really eat too much of it. So as a daily, Hanwoo would be better.
Hanwoo appears to be similar to wagyu, but it has an amazing beef flavor that cannot be compared. Korean food overall just makes too much sense. There is no other menu in the world that is as satisfying, nutritious, delicious and diverse. The best bang for your buck food in the world. Korean food can literally heal the world once people discover it.
@@debodatta7398 Italian food is nothing but pasta or bread. Unbalanced, no variety and no nutritional value. You can eat all Italian dishes in less than 30 days. You can eat a different Korean dish everyday for YEARS with more nutritional value, flavors and variety than you will ever see in Italian food.
Why does one have to be better than the other? Imagine you live in a world you only get to eat one thing or one type of cuisine. That’s a sad life. Stop comparing, stop measuring, and start enjoying.
The warrior monk from ghost of Tsushima was tired from all the violence moved to America got in the food business started a youtube channel and now we have guga. What a character arc.
I never really liked Guga foods the first time i saw him in 2018, today i always watch his videos, his style never really interested me back in the day but now i love how he talks, his positivity and his wide smile. keep doing what your doing and nevermind the haters, they feed off of your attention
So now not only do I want Guga to head to the Crowded Barrel Distillery and talk to Rex and Daniel from the Whiskey Tribe channel, but now I want him to goto Korea with the Korean Englishman and try out the black pig and some other Korean food. And I know the guys at Sorted Foods have also expressed some interest in doing a collaboration with Guga.
as a citizen of the USA who was a pro chef for over 12 years, never eats fast food EVER, cooks 98% of all meals at home, and loves trying new cuisines, I can say that S. Korea is extremely high on my list of countries I'd like to visit.
Hanwoo is almost as tender as wagyu but it has a less melty, fatty texture and is juicier. It’s more like a more tender US prime than wagyu and so some people may prefer it but as people are saying it is not that similar to wagyu so a direct comparison is hard to make.
Very well described. Hanwoo is more beefy for sure. It has more bite to it without losing out much on the tenderness vs wagyu. I personally prefer hanwoo over wagyu for that very reason.
I gotta say that yuor quality of content has raised a lot over the years. You've always given good advice and shown some nice food pron. It was entirely personal but for some reason the way your voice often trailed off in the same way started to get to me. Your speech patterns and stuff have fixed a lot which makes it, at least for my weirdo brain, easier to listen to even if i'm not watching. While you've had great content from the start i guess it goes to show tiny weird things are also a factor. Overall you've done well to tackle them and make yourself more presentable to a wider audience to enjoy the content you provide.
To be expected, the Korean Hanwoo and the Japanese Wagyu breeds are genetically almost identical, so apart from environmental differences they should be very similar. Strangely enough they are not related even by a single common ancestor, they both evolved that way in parallel.
@@Ishlacorrin wagyu is originated from black cow in in Korea. But the breeding method to make fatty beef came to Korea from Japan. The reason for them not sharing the common ancestor is Hanwoo means Korean beef which includes all the cows in Korea, and the black cow is very low % of the whole. Before the invasion, about 8.8% of the cow in Korea were black cows, but as Japanese took those cows during the war (from 1924 as recorded and announced the black cow as their natural monument in 1928) and announced the law to unify the cow colour in 1938 to have black cows as Japanese and red cows as Korean, red cows became the mainstream of Korean cows for years and only few black cows are left nowadays(mainly in Jeju Island). Hope this explains why the cows of two countries are not sharing common ancestors.
@@matthewlee8369 I mean sure that happened, but Wagyu cattle existed in Japan for thousands of years before that. They were not used as meat animals for a lot of that time period because of the Culture at the time that considered meat (except seafood for some reason) to be against their religion. But the same breeds used to make Wagyu today were on the Japanese islands from the times BC. Evidence of people living on the Japanese islands actually predates that from the Korean peninsula by 10,000 years (30k BC in Japan compared to 20K BC in Korea). The cattle breeds are known to have existed on those islands from at least 2,000 years ago, though it would not be false to say they probably came via the Korean peninsula at some point before either country formally existed as any kind of nation or collection of nations.
@@Ishlacorrin oh I did more research as of now and I think what you just said is mostly correct. I think the documentary I saw was a biased one that was broadcasted before the genetic checks.
@@Ishlacorrin But to correct one point from what I saw, it says that the two species left homogeneous are Mishima and Kuchinoshima species both of which are endangered species. Most common wagyu beef of nowadays are the heterogeneous cows of cross-breeding with European cows after 1900's inheriting tajima strains to them (99.9% of black wagyu). "From 1919, the various heterogeneous regional populations that resulted from this brief period of cross-breeding were registered and selected as "Improved Japanese Cattle". Four separate strains were characterised, based mainly on which type of foreign cattle had most influenced the hybrids, and were recognised as breeds in 1944. These were the four wagyū breeds, the Japanese Black, the Japanese Brown, the Japanese Polled and the Japanese Shorthorn.[6]: 8 "
Hanwoo literally means Korean Beef in English. South Korea prize Hanwoo very highly and cattle numbers are not as profound as Japanese Wagyu, and as such it is very rarely exported. Got to love that marbling on the Hanwoo!
@@1111111111202 Depends what Porsche , you wouldn't drive Carrera GT everyday either. I would say it is more like Mercedes AMG S class or Bentley or Rolls-Royce
From my experience Hanwoo is great everyday meat that pairs exceptionally well with rice and Korean side dishes, A5 Wagyu is an experience that is more of a reserved taste. A5 can overwhelm the palate if eaten too much. It's much more enjoyable in small doses but can turn to rich much like eating too much bacon. Hanwoo, I could enjoy it until I was full and especially loved it by wrapping in lettuce, spicy sides, and rice.
From what I could find, the reason why hanwoo isn’t exported is because of the previous outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (edit: not to be confused with hand-foot-and-mouth disease which affects humans), the cost of rearing hanwoo cattle, and because the business is not as industrialized compared to equivalents in other places such as the US. That, and the vast, vast majority of the consumers are in Korea. Currently, I believe it is exported only to four other areas, Hong Kong being the chief among them.
@@geralt4731 I mean, I ate it a couple of times a few weeks ago at my trip to Korea (for a funeral) and I was fine, so… Besides, FMD is different from HFMD since it only affects livestock and not humans. You can still eat the meat and be fine. The FMD portion of the ban is mainly to make sure cattle from other countries are safe, not humans.
I spent nine years, in Seoul, and got back to LA last year. Finally, someone recognizable has given proper recognition to hanwoo! Like you said, wagyu and hanwoo are in different categories. If you want a decadent otoro-texture like beef experience, you can't go wrong with wagyu (kobe, matsuzaka et al). Again as you cited, these treats are perfect in bite sized increments. However, if you wnat to go to town on a kilo of pure beefy goodness, try hanwoo if you ever get the chance. In Seoul, they call the ribeye cap, "saewoo." They call it this as it resembles the shape of a prawn/shrimp. They don't like you to cherry pick just this cut/piece, but oh man...the flavor and especially the texture is beyond belief! I miss my spot in Shinnonhyeon-dong. Enjoy everyone.
As a meat loving Korean, I will explain some of the reasons why Hanwoo beef is not imported to the U.S. First, there are not enough Hanwoo to export since Korea is geographically small country. Second, they dont want to go over the complications of the FDA and FSIS import process as there are already high demands of Hanwoo domestically in Korea. And Hanwoo beef is not cheap at all, rather it is VERY EXPENSIVE. The Majangdong beef market Guga went is one of the well-known meat market in the country where you can purchase Hanwoo beef cheaper than any other place.
Glad you pointed out how wagyu is supposed to be enjoyed in small portions. So many people around the world (and even in tourist-trap restaurants in Japan) Just give you a big slab to like you're eating a normal steak. Then people eat it and go "Oh I don't see what the big deal is". The beauty of Waygu is that there's so much fat that you can give it an individual small slice a good all around sear to maximize the maillard effect without compromising the juiciness or texture of the beef.
This video is somewhat bittersweet for me. I love the fact that Guga is appreciating and exposing the world to Korea's hanwoo. I don't know if other Koreans feel this way but I feel like hanwoo has been Korea's little secret for the most part and part of me wants to hide it from the rest of the world lol. I don't think Korea would be able to ever keep up with the demand that exporting would probably result in, driving up prices for authentic hanwoo massively. I feel like keeping hanwoo in Korea also helps with tourism and encourages people to actually visit Korea to try it.
This is actually a great take and would be beneficial to Korea in terms of macro scale benefits instead of just the beef industry profiting. Hope someone in the Korean government thinks about this.
@@emilishungry I heard the government did say Hanwoo isn't enough for mass exportation so... Also the ban of exports is due to the Foot and Mouth Disease incident from before
The temperature of the water aged beef is the same as a fridge 0 - 4 degrees celsius. The difference being as the water aged beef is not exposed to oxidization for the duration of the dry age process, it doesn't grow a dry crust which you need to remove and waste a lot of the meat. It's basically the same concept with less waste and an even juicier final product.
Having tried wagyu including A5 many times and tried hanwoo from a small butcher shop restaurant, the augmented beefiness combined with excellent richness of hanwoo at a random small shop beats out the overwhelming richness of wagyu 9 times out of 10
your explanation at the end was great. i was wondering how someone would describe the difference but thats perfect. its clear when looking at the pictures too. wagyu isnt even my favorite kind of beef because of how rich it is, ill prefer a grassfed angus cow for a nice meaty steak. now i want a hanwoo steak lol
your review is great man. I'm glad finally people are aware of our K beef. Hanwoo is better than wagyu 10/10. people who say otherwise never tried it 🤣
You would definitely say that as a Korean and even I doubt that's an objective opinion. People's tastes are different, not everyone will agree with you. Korean pride huh. LoL😂😂😂
@@rachmatmulia5212its not pride,it’s literally where they were raised.Fir example malaysians find durian to be delicious and heaven smelling,where as americans find it disgusting
Hey Guga, thanks for your great videos. After watching your videos, I have three requests for future videos: - How do you clean all your pans and other cooking ustensils so they continue to be so shiny ? - Please cook a foie gras in a terrine using sous vide. - Please try some other cattle breeds than wagyu and American beef. And yes I'll repeat those requests often. ;D
Many people who are into wild game in warmer parts of the USA do wet aging. It is basically the same process as dry aging but the meat retains its water content. This allows someone who doesn't have access to an entire meatlocker to age their game meat in an iced cooler. The collagen breaks down and some of the other aging processes still occur. It is definitely a good way to age venison. I don't know anything about Korean Beef, but my two cents on this aging process is that it retains the original weight of the steak (in water) but enhances the flavor and texture.
It would be impossible to keep the quality affordable given current supply levels if exports were legal. Great videos and thank you for visiting all of our countries!! We hope you enjoy the experience as much as you do, Guga!😊
I visited Hong Kong earlier this year and went to Beefbar for a special occasion. The expat waiter asked us if we wanted to try something we couldn’t get stateside and recommended the Hanwoo beef. Tried Hanwoo and Kobe side by side and thought the Hanwoo was better.
As a beef fanatic, i loved waygyu but after i tried hanwoo i travel when i can every year to indulge in hanwoo as two proteins are amazing but hanwoo stands higher to my palate and you can eat more as less fatty.
Japan was a Buddhist country until the Western-style modernization , and was historically a vegetarian country. On the other hand, Korea has historically been a country that eats a lot of beef. The Japanese government thought that the Japanese people's body size was small because they did not eat meat and milk, and accordingly, meat and milk were supplied to the people, but because they did not eat meat, recipes and breeding were not carried out. As a result, after the colonization of Korea, the Japanese government supplied more than 1.5 million Korean cows to Korea during the period of domination, and improved Wagyu based on Korean beef. In addition, Yakiniku, a Japanese-style recipe, is also a recipe developed by Koreans who migrated to Japan or were forcibly taken away during the Japanese occupation period, so there are many differences between Wagyu and Korean beef. I'm not criticizing wagyu. I like both wagyu and hanwoo.
I live in Thailand and the Thais love their pork, chicken, and fish or sea food. They are 99 percent buddhist. A few people eat beef but most Thai beef is horrible
Hanwoo is rarely exported due to demand at home, only recently did Hong Kong receive the approval to serve Hanwoo. “It’s a very special breed because it takes a long time to get consistent cattle,” explains associate director Andrew Lee Chi-ho of the first firm in Hong Kong to import Hanwoo beef. “It takes five to 10 generations, 15 to 30 years, to get consistent marbling, flavour and good structure.” Unlike the practices in the U.S., Korea gives very special attention to each cattle. Each cattle has its own electronic ID registered in the national database which details the care, shots received, and treatment history of each animal.
As it is a traditional Korean cow, (Han Woo comes from Han: Korean, Woo: Cow) Korea does not allow this particular beef to be exported outside of the country. The beef is strictly regulated in Korea to keep its quality and is exported to only a few countries (I believe one) Hong Kong.
Actually it does export to Hong kong
Alot of Koreans mail it to the us as a gift
@@TheReddinotimeforce maybe it is illegal? Or only some countries have the license to sell it. Or it might be Korea who sells it there
@@19JWhite85 as long as it is not sold by a private individual without the license!
@@8dp536 yes we must brodect za culture
Thank you very much for visiting my offline store and introducing HANWOO.
This video provides me a sense of accomplishment at water-aging HANWOO for the last decade.
I will continue to support Guga Food in Seoul. Hope to see you again some day :)
What’s your next ETA?! 😄🫶✈
You should post some videos! I'm sure many people would be curious to watch! 화이팅
I would love to see you post a few videos talking about your water aging!
I will be following you! Hope to see some videos to support you store!
우리 모두는 이 프로세스에 대해 가장 관심을 가질 것입니다.
@seokshinhanu Hi can you tell me the store exact location, going to Seoul next week. Thank you
My Daughter just Married a Korean and we have our first Grandchild one year later...I am officially Korican...I love their culture, ways, and their Food...I can't wait to go to Korea to show off our Grandson to Our Korean Family and hit all the spots
this has the trappings of a new series. "Guga worldwide" where he toures the world and tries to cook traditional dishes of other countries. I would watch that
He has to do it, beef around the world, please guga
BEEF AROUND THE WORLD
Until he goes to philipines where he cooks pagpag.
It is not illegal to export per se but there is a law against freezing hanwoo for export. Only just recently have they allowed refrigerated exporting. That's why you don't see it anywhere else. As a person who lived in Korea and ate hanwoo mainly, I would say that Wagyu is definitely more tender and buttery but hanwoo has the best beef taste/ flavor by far. It is not too rich or heavy but more umami. Definitely not as tender or melt in your mouth as Wagyu. The taste probably has more to do with the specific grass the cow is fed. Korean soil is red and I am sure it has something to do with the type of grass. Also, the hanwoo market has grown exponentially as with the quality of beef. Even ten years ago, I had to find specific butchers to get the best cuts and quality. Now it's everywhere.
That’s a pretty dumb law when it comes to trade. South Korea could make a huge name for themselves in the beef industry if they allowed export to Western countries, it could be just as popular as wagyu!
@@telanis9 Yeah Hanwoo beef is so well marketed no one knows what it is! lol
@raikaru0 I'm korean n I agree with 100percent!!! At the end u do all this to make money n korean is doing completely wrong...
@@raikaru0nice
@@Sniperboy5551nah, it's not dumb to keep the quality. Nowadays, Wagyu is becoming mainstream and any gullible-type would believe that good beef is said to be Wagyu. Now that's dumb.
As a beef loving Korean, I love both hanwoo and wagyu. Wagyu, you go for the fat. The taste of the fat is amazing and the cooking methods can only be between charcoal or teppan yaki. Hanwoo, on the other hand, is for the red meat. The beefiness of the meat really comes through even if the meat is 1++(9) which has the highest fat content. Also hanwoo is cut entirely differently from American way - for expample chuck is much shorter in Korea than in America. There is no piccanha for hanwoo as well, since we cut it stripped of its fat cap and sell it mostly for yook-hwoe, a chopped raw beef marinated with sweet salty sauce. I really like to buy a chunk of hanwoo and cut it up to portions so I can use it for broth. Boiling hanwoo gives such an amazing beefy broth.
Wagyu is overrated and you can't eat too much as you feel sick from all the high fat. It's also way overpriced.
This is very informative. Thank you!
@@Jurk844There are several kinds of fats and they have different flavor profile just like varied cuts of beef do. I think it's more about how they complement and balance each other. If it's all soft fat with a little vein or silver skin, it tastes wonderfully cooked in or seared. It's an acquired taste that you get more and more as you mature and go down the road, unless it's simply is never going to be your preference. I used to cut every square millimeter of fat when I was young and now it seems like I can eat significant amounts of fat if proportion to correctly to the flesh
HIGHLY AGREED WITH AS A FELLOW KOREAN MEATLOVER
As a person that tried both Hanwoo and Wagyu, it really depends on the mood. I personally like Hanwoo better because it's super tender but you still get the beef flavor. With A5 Wagyu, it tastes amazing but it's super rich but you're mainly eating fat. A5 Wagyu is probably 40/60 Meat to fat ratio and Hanwoo is like 70/30 Meat to fat ratio.
So Hanwoo has more fat than A5 wagyu? Not sure about that
@@nathanboyd380 opposite
@@westcoastkidd17no, he means meat to fat, wagyu is mostly fat
Why don't you just get wagyu with a lower marbling score then. It's the same as hanwoo. I don't get the difference
What about American Wagyu? It can be roughly the same fat ratio as Hanwoo.
Korean food is by far one of my favourite cuisines. I'm a sucker for all asian cuisines, but korean just hits a spot like no other
There are several reasons on why Hanwoo is not exported but the main and the most fundamental reason is that production quantity of hanwoo is fully consumed in Korea. The demand for hanwoo within Korea is higher than total production quantity of Hanwoo. Increasing production is not as easy because the science and methodologies behind producing a high quality hanwoo makes it difficult to implement in an industrial farming setting which could be scaled more readily.
korean ppl just want it all for themselves, that makes the most sense
It doesn't make a lot of sense. Why would an exporter not want to sell to the exterior for a HIGHER PRICE and HIGHER profit margin? Price and demand are intertwined. Either there isn't demand on the exterior (wich I doubt) or there is some bureaucracy or politics happening.
@@eJuniorA2 It's definitely a cultural thing for the most part as to why it isn't exported in any sort of quantity. But the main reason it isn't available in the US is there's kind of a mutual import ban on US beef going to Korea for not meeting Korean quality standards, so naturally we got pissy about that and made it next to impossible for Hanwoo to come into the US... Not a ban really, I know, but it is what it is...
not even to Los Angeles. That is so wrong.
There's no way this is actually better than wagyu so nothing lost. If it was actually better the market would find a way to sell it at the highest price possible, like any truly rare and high-quality product.
So happy to see this video. My wife is Korean and each time we visit there, her family take us out to eat HANWOO bbq. I always tried to explain to my friends back in Europe just how amazing it is, and was met with a visible degree of skepticism. Now i will forward all of them this video, which contains the verdict from the OG Himself! Thank you Guga!
I will visit Korea and Japan in December. Those videos are absolutely a blessing. Thank you!
Hanwoo looks stunning based on the packaging alone. We know for a fact that Guga is simply the best at classifying meat in general.
yeah he is hehe that's why I'm so glad he finally tried this and told the world it's better 😊
😂😂😂 it was just plastic wrap. Jesus people are so easily amazed
how is he the best at classifying things when they were already classified before he found them
I want to see more videos like this of guga traveling and giving his opinion of different country's meats
Man I missed you! Looks like we were there on the same day
Verified with no likes?
Spent a year in Korea (military) and it was one of the best years of my life. Food is so good and people are so friendly
My neighbour is korean and he was in the korean military too
@@qwert314oderwat In fact, every single korean man has to complete military service of any sort. Our country is technically still at war with north korea, and military service is mandatory.
@@starmaker23871 many countries still do this. I think the US should do it too.
@@rafaelpaun1907 Nah man... the korean military system has lots of problems. The soldiers are paid less than the minimum wage written in law, and the social status of them are not very high. Even though young men have to sacrifice two years of their life for the country, there are no bonus points for them to colleges and companies due to the protesting of 'feminism rights'. It is totally crooked. I envy US soldiers who are respected by their citizens.
Because of this, politicians and the rich tend to make up imaginary illnesses to evade military service. There are even brokers contacting young men to bad doctors for them to get valuated as not combat-able.
Most of our soldiers are not happy with their military service. This, combined with various corruptions on the headquarters, results in our infantry's quality going down.
Mandatory military service is not a great idea. I can tell you that.
@@starmaker23871 yeah your probably right. There are just a lot of weak and cowardly people in the US and that should change.
Seoul is a very densely populated city but unlike Japan there is a lack of farmland area locally due to the weather and mountainous landscape so beef and pork end up costing a lot because there is a high demand for both but less farms able to produce the meat. For this reason at Majang market you will often also see beef from Los Angeles imported there to supplement the local meat supply. Hanwoo is considered the highest quality beef in Korea and since beef is already difficult to produce enough of in Korea they choose to limit the exports to Hong Kong. I visited majang market this prior winter and enjoyed 1++ hanwoo the similarly way as depicted here.
Actually that wasn't 47 dollars, was more like 37 dollars! I was in Korea not long ago and we bought some Hanwoo in this premium supermarket. The guy was happy to see tourists buying their food so he gave us a load extra. For about $20 we had about 600g of premium Hanwoo steak
Shhh
Shows how overpriced wagyu is
@@MarkWhippy In japan with the current exchange rates 100g of A5 is $12.
That’s from a grocery store too, a butcher would be cheaper.
I bet that wasn't Hanwoo then. Wherever you go, a steak cut Hanwoo would cost you around $100/kg
@@인자강-x7k "he gave us a load extra" -
As a Korean, I highly recommend you to visit a quality Korean style BBQ places. Majang market is maybe a good place for shopping Hanwoo at cheaper price and definitely the best place to feel the atmosphere of old Seoul Korea(not many Koreans go to traditional market these days), but not the best place to enjoy it because they don't serve good quality charcoal and side dishes and so on which leads to less satisfaction. In addition, wet aging is not popular in Korea at all(I doubt I've seen it before?).
Korean style bbq restaurants usually serve fresh (or short-term aged in some places) Hanwoo beef. Dry-aged Hanwoo is typically served at western style steak houses which you can find easily in Seoul.
IMO, maybe not the Hanwoo itself but the way Koreans enjoy it- Korean style bbq : charcoal grilled thin cut fresh beef - can give you a better understaning of Hanwoo. You can find lots of vides enjoying Korean style bbq on TH-cam and I recommend you to visit one of those places with good quality.
I personally enjoy both prime U.S. beef and Hanwoo. I find Hanwoo is more suited for Korean style bbq(due to its marveling - Hanwoo tends to have more intramuscluar fat than U.S. beef and sometimes strong beefy flavor) and U.S. beef is more suited for steak(due to its soft texture and mild flavor) and eventually it comes down to personal preference.
In terms of Hanwoo' taste, it is grain-fed beef like U.S. beef(traditionally Hanwoo has been raised grass-fed for hundreds of years). so its beefy flavor is quite different from grass-fed beef. Sometimes I can't stand the flavor of grass-fed beef and I guess many Koreans do. Maybe that's why Koreans love Hanwoo. Here I don't want to claim that Hanwoo has superior quality than wagyu, U.S. beef or beef from another country. Maybe it's just suited for Korean's taste and the way they enjoy it.
My wife bought me your book for Christmas. I am so happy! This is definitely going to be one of my favorite gifts ever.
I am the once in a lifetime wife. Plus I love you to Pluto and back and so much more. ❤
Gugaaaa, for you a must try is Korean Black Pig BBQ, originally from Jenu island. It is a sublime meat experience.
The first time I tried hanwoo I was amazed how tender and sweet it was. You barely need any seasoning to make it delicious and the umami was incredible almost on par with A5 Wagyu no cap.
As your Korean follower for a few years, I'm extremely happy that you came to Korea and tried lots of Korean food. As far as I googled, the main reason why Hanwoo beef is not exported is its high price. It is already quite expensive domestically due to high demand and low supply and the price would only get worse if exported. Moreover, as you already spotted, it is not as special as Wagyu and far less known, which makes it almost impossible to justify the price.
By the way, the first market you've been is 광장시장 rather than 관장시장. 시장 means a market in Korean and somewhat funnily 관장 just means enema(!) whereas 광장 is a public square. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy the visit!
Wagyu beef are also very expensive but why can they be imported overseas while han woo doesn't?
@@rachmatmulia5212 cause imagine a cut of meat you've never heard of yet is a decent amount more expensive than wagyu
Hanwoo does get exported to Hong Kong. I believe currently one cow worth of meat gets exported to Hong Kong per day.
I think went to Korea because he might be half Korean
@@ramencurry6672he is brazil I think
I've also had Hanwoo in Seoul and I agree that it is a different experience from Wagyu. It's not a question of which one is better because if you pit them against each other, it's like comparing mangoes to oranges. Since you can't get it outside of Korea, it is definitely a must have when you visit, especially Korean bbq style.
I'm sorry I disagree. We comparing satsumas to clementines here. Which taste better, ask 10 steak lovers to do a blind taste test and grade 3 cuts of beef; Hanwoo, Wagyou and lets say Angus. Guga does that, he just has to bring his crew
@@k2411871 The world isn't just black and white. There's plenty of room for Hanwoo, wagyu and USDA prime to exist together and separately. If you were any kind of steak lover, you would know that there's a different steak for each occasion.
@@infn sure but i consider wagyu better or one off occasions. On the flip side, for a good hearty filling meal, id much rather go USDA prime / black angus or whatever.
@@infn it's about content what people like to see. So doing blind taste test where people decide which cut of beef they like makes for good viewing. I only clicked on this video because of the comparison title.
@@lel1433 What you described is literally what infn was saying lol.
I’m so glad Guga visited my country, the food there is outta this world and happy that he got to experience it!
Hanwoo is really delicious too. Comparable to wagyu
Yet to watch this video, but as a guy who's been living in South Korea over a decade, I can say that Hanwoo overall has quite a decent quality but unsure whether it comes with best value. A bit costly imo. If you expect something unique / rich in fat almost to Wagyu level you'll be disappointed. It's like Irish beef with more fat infused. Lovely quality when it's done in a korean barbecue way - grill or saute on your favourite skillet but I'd always go for good old pork barbecues whenever I'm in Korea.
Delicious!
It’s hyped by Korean propaganda you can definitely get better value elsewhere
@@jiimmiij4428 Beef overall in Korea IS NOT CHEAP in the first place. Sooo, you have to consider that. Hanwoo is the premium beef from Korea and for you to say that you can get better value somewhere else is pretty dumb because you are trying to compare Hanwoo that is sold ONLY in Korea. You can't get the same beef in other Countries, although you can try to compare it to Waygu from Japan, or American Waygu which are both very expensive as well. Also, space is limited in Korea and that comes with premium in price for lots of agricultural products including meat, and fruits.
@@1flash3571 yeah exactly you can better deals with meats in other countries. You can get multitude different grade of wagyus as well as high grade prime beef for better bang for buck
You must be dead broke to say hanwoo is overpriced lol. If you go to any kbbq restaurants here in the states, you will typically see $40 to $50 range for 1 person serving. It may be costly for korean nationals living in korea to try hanwoo but not for Americans. And the kbbq meats arent even necessarily prime grade either although they may claim it is prime but you know it's only slightly better than choice by using hand skills and aging. Hanwoo Is at what you would normally pay for a 1 person serving here in the states and is cheaper than steak from steakhouses here.
Guga, I am so happy you were able to go to Korea. We lived there for.4 years and like you found out, the Hanwoo beef is exceptional. Excellent pork and chicken too. I miss the food and Korean people so much. If you get to go again, I'm in!
한국에 다시 방문하세요~! 언제든 환영합니다!^^
The way he described it to me is the best of both worlds in steak hanwoo vs wagyu. Certain things need to stay in their specific region or area. For Korea hanwoo is one of them. I've had both also in Korea and Japan.
Nice to see you covering Hanwoo! Hanwoo is actually a product dedicated by a lot of Koreans. There's central government research center as well as local government R&D, while all universities have relevant subject that is popular by students. That much said, it is carried on scientifically, not only by hard working farmers. It is bread to be beefy, but with maximum tenderness without too much fat content. We believe strong fat burning taste is not the best taste of meat.
Wagyu kind of originates from Korea so it is kind of a silly point. Due to the Buddhist influence, Japanese did not eat much meat before Meiji restoration. When they started to eat beef again, they imported Korean cows, primarily from the nearby Jeju island - confirmed with genetic training. That said, the real Wagyu (coming from Japan not the US or Australia) is not too dissimilar from Korean beef.
잘못된이야기입니다. 제주소는 유전자 개량에 쓰이지않고 도축용이었어요. 요즘은 유전자.검사해보면 일치율 다나옵니다. 한우랑 먼 조상대나 관련있을지몰라도 여러 일본와규 품종중에서도 흔히먹는와규는 서양소 엄청 교잡한 품종이 많습니다.
Korean imported cow from China. That's why they have beef in that island
Wagyu is totally different type of meat. Contrary to what you have commented, scientific evidence of DNA suggests that the origins of cows in Japan and Korea are totally different.
The Korean cows are red hair as to the wagyu being black hair. The branding and genetic selection in Korea also began only in 1992, far later than the Japanese wagyu.
The origin of the Japanese Wagyu is not from Korea during the Meiji era but the farm cows which were originally used for cultivating land which its existence pre-dates Christ. DNA check also confirms that the two beef have no connection in race.
Very interesting! I always found it strange how the japanese are open about how much korean influence there is over yakiniku (am i spelling that right?) and wondered why they didn't seem to have their own established barbeque culture, but the historical banning of meat could be one explanation for it.
I had hanwoo for the first time on my last trip to the motherland about a month ago. It was amazing. Korean food is just on another level. So good
I had korean food for the first time awhile ago and I was surprised at how hot they serve their food, not spice wise but temp wise. everything served was scorching fresh hot
I've been waiting for you to do a video on hanwoo beef! Also, you need to check out Jeju black pig pork, especially the samgyeopsal (pork belly, literally translated as "three layer flesh). Some say it rivals Iberico jamon.
hungarian pork
Korea is my second home. I live there for 15 years and that's where I met my wife and started a family. I am glad you made it to Korea to try some food.
Welcome to Korea!
Plz go to the hans river park
and order Korean fried chicken!!
First
Apparently the reason for Hanwoo beef not being allowed in the US was an outbreak of foot in mouth disease in the early 2000’s in meat exported from South Korea. And according to World Organization of Animal Health, only FMD-free countries can export raw meat overseas. In years since, the herds of Hanwoo have depleted, and only make enough to fill local Korean markets. Some do get shipped to Hong Kong, but mostly stays in Korea. There you go Guga! Love all your channels!!
You actually WENT to korea to get Hanwoo? That’s some dedication, man
He loves the meats!!! Also it's that power of youtube cash :) lol. I bet a lot of people actually recognized him walking around. Wish I was a friend of Guga to experience all this with him. :)
Oh no, a rich Hawaiian travelled 9 hours in business class to Korea 😔 no one has ever done that before
yet we're the ones actually funding his trip hahaha
@@RadBrad2 isn't guga brazilian?
Dude look at what he does. HE GETS PAID TO DO THIS!! He’s not only eating well, he’s traveling, checking things off his bucket list all while getting paid to do so. And then to top it off he gets to write it all off for business. I only kick myself in the pants for not thinking of it first!
As an Australian, I genuinely prefer hanwoo over wagyu (even compared to Australian M9 grade) as it has more beef flavour and textures whereas wagyu is just about 'fat'. But unfortunately they are not available in Australia either so I have to fly to Korea for hanwoo everytime I miss the hanwoo taste. Some restaurants there have hanwoo omakase which is highly recommended as you can try different cuts in one meal and they are generally less expensive than sushi omakase haha
Thanks for the recommendation, might go in the future
go to an auction and buy a few cows and give them to a australian farmer
As an honest person I wish you people would stop calling cattle grown outside of Japan wagyu. It's totally disingenuous
Wagyu’s fat is more than just fat.
@@joshschneider9766I don’t understand how this is disingenuous
Thanks for taking us with you to Korea.
I don’t thing Guga had the whole Korean experiences here(like he did in Japan). I wish he comes back again and do it all over!
Hanwoo is very balanced... The muscle and fat ratio makes it ideal for grilling. Plus, you have the wonderful 'Banchan' (side dishes) to boost the flavor profile.
Love all your work and dedication!😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤
Just went to the meat market since I live here. Was pretty awesome I’d have to say. Thanks for the tip. I even took some home for my lady.
Oh dang I didn't expect that you will ever visit Korea to try Hanwoo D:!! Thank you for visiting and your videos!
I’ve always been fascinated by South Korea ever since Best Ever Food Review Show talked about his experience living in SK. It’s such a beautiful country with plenty of wonderful people!
The country is actually a Oligarchy, where corporations have a lot of influence on the government to do things, but what makes them different is that at a lower level they are traditional so they respect their population for the most part unlike Russia.
SK has her issues like all countries but I enjoyed my time living there for the most part
@@dra6o0nit’s not an oligarchy. According to your logic, USA, Japan and Europe are all controlled by oligarchs..
Hanwoo seems like the perfect medium between Japanese wagyu and regular high quality cut of beef.
So regular wagyu…?
He acted here like all wagyu is super rich A5 wagyu
In my experience Hanwoo reminds me of American Wagyu or some Australian Wagyu. All three of them has a more beefy flavor while being less rich in fat but still being really tender and juicy. Imo wagyu is for special occasions or meant to be eaten in small portions and hanwoo/American/Australian can be eaten in larger quantities as an everyday steak (if you are rich). Both hanwoo and wagyu are good but are in different classes. I can not choose a favorite because all of them taste like heaven.
as a korean, I find this observation very true!
No wagyu is for every day
As a person that has eaten all of the above frequently i would say American and Australian wagyu are not on the same level as hanwoo. Hanwoo is more tender and does have that beefiness that true beef lovers yearn for. I personally prefer hanwoo over wagyu or kobe from japan due to the flavor. Its still more than tender enough and not too rich unlike japanese wagyu.
If you guys are ever in Korea this is definitely worth a try even with the price tag it has.
Wagyu beef originated from hanwoo cows. Japan imported Korean cows centuries ago and bred them over the years to be a fattier version of hanwoo.
@@beatnix99 no. This is incorrect. Wagyu cows originate from Japan and have been bred there for 35,000 years
Welcome to Korea!! Hanwoo is a must try! Hope you enjoyed the food and hospitality!
Awesome to see you in South Korea. Would love to see more of this food vlogging travels from you. Looking forward to my trip to South Korea early next year.
I think Hanwoo is probably more suitably cooked as a Steak than Wagyu is. Wagyu should be eaten as thin slices. The thing about Wagyu is the high fat content can be sometimes very overwhelming so you can't really eat too much of it. So as a daily, Hanwoo would be better.
Hanwoo is perfect, I ate it in my first trip to Seoul and I just loved it
Hanwoo appears to be similar to wagyu, but it has an amazing beef flavor that cannot be compared. Korean food overall just makes too much sense. There is no other menu in the world that is as satisfying, nutritious, delicious and diverse. The best bang for your buck food in the world. Korean food can literally heal the world once people discover it.
Sorry Italian>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Korean cuisine anyday
@@debodatta7398 Italian food is nothing but pasta or bread. Unbalanced, no variety and no nutritional value. You can eat all Italian dishes in less than 30 days. You can eat a different Korean dish everyday for YEARS with more nutritional value, flavors and variety than you will ever see in Italian food.
Iranian food >>>> any other inferior culture
@@debodatta7398Italian food is overrated.
Why does one have to be better than the other? Imagine you live in a world you only get to eat one thing or one type of cuisine. That’s a sad life. Stop comparing, stop measuring, and start enjoying.
The warrior monk from ghost of Tsushima was tired from all the violence moved to America got in the food business started a youtube channel and now we have guga. What a character arc.
I never really liked Guga foods the first time i saw him in 2018, today i always watch his videos, his style never really interested me back in the day but now i love how he talks, his positivity and his wide smile. keep doing what your doing and nevermind the haters, they feed off of your attention
So now not only do I want Guga to head to the Crowded Barrel Distillery and talk to Rex and Daniel from the Whiskey Tribe channel, but now I want him to goto Korea with the Korean Englishman and try out the black pig and some other Korean food. And I know the guys at Sorted Foods have also expressed some interest in doing a collaboration with Guga.
Yes! That would be amazing!
as a citizen of the USA who was a pro chef for over 12 years, never eats fast food EVER, cooks 98% of all meals at home, and loves trying new cuisines, I can say that S. Korea is extremely high on my list of countries I'd like to visit.
You should eat these street foods,
Really tasty and cheap
Hanwoo is almost as tender as wagyu but it has a less melty, fatty texture and is juicier. It’s more like a more tender US prime than wagyu and so some people may prefer it but as people are saying it is not that similar to wagyu so a direct comparison is hard to make.
The Mrs. smile at 1:17 made my day, and it wasn't even aimed towards myself! Also, the Hanwoo looked very delicious!
Ha! I commented couple of months ago that you should try hanwoo and you’ve finally done it! Congratulations
Very well described. Hanwoo is more beefy for sure. It has more bite to it without losing out much on the tenderness vs wagyu. I personally prefer hanwoo over wagyu for that very reason.
이 분이 오셨는데 영접을 못 했네
안돼~~~
너무 아쉽습니다...
Whoa. Weird seeing hanwoo on the “main stage” now. Been my favorite beef experience for years.
same. I'm tried kobe beef IN Kobe. but our Hanwoo is always much better. I hope Hanwoo will get the deserved #1 of best beef worldwide.
@@NamChin846 Of course, you WOULD say that!
@@NamChin846 You would definitely say that as a Korean and even I doubt that's an objective opinion. Korean pride huh. LoL😂😂😂
so many mad people cause Guga prefers Hanwoo 🤣
@rachmatmulia5212 hmm judging by your name you're an Indonesian aren't you? Your country is quite well known for its nationalistic pride as well.
I truly enjoyed this! Love seeing you explore ❤ More travel videooooos please
I gotta say that yuor quality of content has raised a lot over the years. You've always given good advice and shown some nice food pron.
It was entirely personal but for some reason the way your voice often trailed off in the same way started to get to me. Your speech patterns and stuff have fixed a lot which makes it, at least for my weirdo brain, easier to listen to even if i'm not watching.
While you've had great content from the start i guess it goes to show tiny weird things are also a factor. Overall you've done well to tackle them and make yourself more presentable to a wider audience to enjoy the content you provide.
Fantastic. Way to go Guga!!!! I livedin Asia for 3 years and Korean food is amazing !!!
Hanwoo is the real deal!!!
To be expected, the Korean Hanwoo and the Japanese Wagyu breeds are genetically almost identical, so apart from environmental differences they should be very similar.
Strangely enough they are not related even by a single common ancestor, they both evolved that way in parallel.
@@Ishlacorrin wagyu is originated from black cow in in Korea. But the breeding method to make fatty beef came to Korea from Japan. The reason for them not sharing the common ancestor is Hanwoo means Korean beef which includes all the cows in Korea, and the black cow is very low % of the whole. Before the invasion, about 8.8% of the cow in Korea were black cows, but as Japanese took those cows during the war (from 1924 as recorded and announced the black cow as their natural monument in 1928) and announced the law to unify the cow colour in 1938 to have black cows as Japanese and red cows as Korean, red cows became the mainstream of Korean cows for years and only few black cows are left nowadays(mainly in Jeju Island). Hope this explains why the cows of two countries are not sharing common ancestors.
@@matthewlee8369 I mean sure that happened, but Wagyu cattle existed in Japan for thousands of years before that. They were not used as meat animals for a lot of that time period because of the Culture at the time that considered meat (except seafood for some reason) to be against their religion.
But the same breeds used to make Wagyu today were on the Japanese islands from the times BC. Evidence of people living on the Japanese islands actually predates that from the Korean peninsula by 10,000 years (30k BC in Japan compared to 20K BC in Korea).
The cattle breeds are known to have existed on those islands from at least 2,000 years ago, though it would not be false to say they probably came via the Korean peninsula at some point before either country formally existed as any kind of nation or collection of nations.
@@Ishlacorrin oh I did more research as of now and I think what you just said is mostly correct. I think the documentary I saw was a biased one that was broadcasted before the genetic checks.
@@Ishlacorrin But to correct one point from what I saw, it says that the two species left homogeneous are Mishima and Kuchinoshima species both of which are endangered species. Most common wagyu beef of nowadays are the heterogeneous cows of cross-breeding with European cows after 1900's inheriting tajima strains to them (99.9% of black wagyu).
"From 1919, the various heterogeneous regional populations that resulted from this brief period of cross-breeding were registered and selected as "Improved Japanese Cattle". Four separate strains were characterised, based mainly on which type of foreign cattle had most influenced the hybrids, and were recognised as breeds in 1944. These were the four wagyū breeds, the Japanese Black, the Japanese Brown, the Japanese Polled and the Japanese Shorthorn.[6]: 8 "
Hanwoo literally means Korean Beef in English. South Korea prize Hanwoo very highly and cattle numbers are not as profound as Japanese Wagyu, and as such it is very rarely exported. Got to love that marbling on the Hanwoo!
Omg Guga! Had no idea you visited Korea! I would’ve loved to see you here!
The video quality is for some reason amazing on this video
Wagyu is like a luxury yacht that you will like to ride once a while. Hanwoo is like a Ferrari that you would like to drive everyday.
Eh, I wouldn't want to drive a Ferrari everyday either
@@SterbenCyrodill yep. Hanwoo more like a Porsche
Hmmm a Ferrari is not designed to be driven every day 🙃
you dont drive ferarris everyday. youd drive a porsche everyday
@@1111111111202 Depends what Porsche , you wouldn't drive Carrera GT everyday either. I would say it is more like Mercedes AMG S class or Bentley or Rolls-Royce
From my experience Hanwoo is great everyday meat that pairs exceptionally well with rice and Korean side dishes, A5 Wagyu is an experience that is more of a reserved taste. A5 can overwhelm the palate if eaten too much. It's much more enjoyable in small doses but can turn to rich much like eating too much bacon. Hanwoo, I could enjoy it until I was full and especially loved it by wrapping in lettuce, spicy sides, and rice.
You can never eat too much bacon.
From what I could find, the reason why hanwoo isn’t exported is because of the previous outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (edit: not to be confused with hand-foot-and-mouth disease which affects humans), the cost of rearing hanwoo cattle, and because the business is not as industrialized compared to equivalents in other places such as the US. That, and the vast, vast majority of the consumers are in Korea. Currently, I believe it is exported only to four other areas, Hong Kong being the chief among them.
Eww disgusting. Thanks for informing me not to eat hanwoo
@@geralt4731
I mean, I ate it a couple of times a few weeks ago at my trip to Korea (for a funeral) and I was fine, so… Besides, FMD is different from HFMD since it only affects livestock and not humans. You can still eat the meat and be fine. The FMD portion of the ban is mainly to make sure cattle from other countries are safe, not humans.
Many countries have restrictions on transporting food products, but I don't see why South Korea is blocking beef export.
Whaaaaat! A new content for the channel, Guga Around The World! You make an awesome food reviewer!
I spent nine years, in Seoul, and got back to LA last year. Finally, someone recognizable has given proper recognition to hanwoo! Like you said, wagyu and hanwoo are in different categories. If you want a decadent otoro-texture like beef experience, you can't go wrong with wagyu (kobe, matsuzaka et al). Again as you cited, these treats are perfect in bite sized increments. However, if you wnat to go to town on a kilo of pure beefy goodness, try hanwoo if you ever get the chance. In Seoul, they call the ribeye cap, "saewoo." They call it this as it resembles the shape of a prawn/shrimp. They don't like you to cherry pick just this cut/piece, but oh man...the flavor and especially the texture is beyond belief! I miss my spot in Shinnonhyeon-dong. Enjoy everyone.
really interesting comment thank you 🦐
If the hanwoo won't come to Guga, Guga will go to hanwoo
No meat is save from guga
As a meat loving Korean, I will explain some of the reasons why Hanwoo beef is not imported to the U.S. First, there are not enough Hanwoo to export since Korea is geographically small country. Second, they dont want to go over the complications of the FDA and FSIS import process as there are already high demands of Hanwoo domestically in Korea. And Hanwoo beef is not cheap at all, rather it is VERY EXPENSIVE. The Majangdong beef market Guga went is one of the well-known meat market in the country where you can purchase Hanwoo beef cheaper than any other place.
Wagyu beef’s ancestors are actually hanwoo beef. Japan imported hanwoo cows from Korea and bred them over the years for fatty breed.
their are 3 types of hanwoo cattle
Glad you pointed out how wagyu is supposed to be enjoyed in small portions. So many people around the world (and even in tourist-trap restaurants in Japan) Just give you a big slab to like you're eating a normal steak. Then people eat it and go "Oh I don't see what the big deal is". The beauty of Waygu is that there's so much fat that you can give it an individual small slice a good all around sear to maximize the maillard effect without compromising the juiciness or texture of the beef.
This video is somewhat bittersweet for me. I love the fact that Guga is appreciating and exposing the world to Korea's hanwoo. I don't know if other Koreans feel this way but I feel like hanwoo has been Korea's little secret for the most part and part of me wants to hide it from the rest of the world lol. I don't think Korea would be able to ever keep up with the demand that exporting would probably result in, driving up prices for authentic hanwoo massively. I feel like keeping hanwoo in Korea also helps with tourism and encourages people to actually visit Korea to try it.
This is actually a great take and would be beneficial to Korea in terms of macro scale benefits instead of just the beef industry profiting. Hope someone in the Korean government thinks about this.
hanwoo can only be legally exported to 4 countries, so if anything this video would increase tourism to those countries
@@emilishungry
I heard the government did say Hanwoo isn't enough for mass exportation so...
Also the ban of exports is due to the Foot and Mouth Disease incident from before
@@junkyyard2273 I also wasn't aware of this .that makes sense
I tried Hanwoo 1++ on recent trip to Korea. Was amazing!
Korean food is my favorite, they know what they're doing.
The temperature of the water aged beef is the same as a fridge 0 - 4 degrees celsius. The difference being as the water aged beef is not exposed to oxidization for the duration of the dry age process, it doesn't grow a dry crust which you need to remove and waste a lot of the meat. It's basically the same concept with less waste and an even juicier final product.
Very cool video Guga, this one was really fun. Water-age video incoming!!
Having tried wagyu including A5 many times and tried hanwoo from a small butcher shop restaurant, the augmented beefiness combined with excellent richness of hanwoo at a random small shop beats out the overwhelming richness of wagyu 9 times out of 10
your explanation at the end was great. i was wondering how someone would describe the difference but thats perfect. its clear when looking at the pictures too. wagyu isnt even my favorite kind of beef because of how rich it is, ill prefer a grassfed angus cow for a nice meaty steak. now i want a hanwoo steak lol
your review is great man. I'm glad finally people are aware of our K beef. Hanwoo is better than wagyu 10/10. people who say otherwise never tried it 🤣
You would definitely say that as a Korean and even I doubt that's an objective opinion. People's tastes are different, not everyone will agree with you. Korean pride huh. LoL😂😂😂
@@rachmatmulia5212its not pride,it’s literally where they were raised.Fir example malaysians find durian to be delicious and heaven smelling,where as americans find it disgusting
I just discovered this dude. Omg super cool. Love your style and passion for food!
Hey Guga, thanks for your great videos.
After watching your videos, I have three requests for future videos:
- How do you clean all your pans and other cooking ustensils so they continue to be so shiny ?
- Please cook a foie gras in a terrine using sous vide.
- Please try some other cattle breeds than wagyu and American beef.
And yes I'll repeat those requests often. ;D
YES!!! Now THAT I would eat!! Wagyu can kick rocks with all that fat. I’ll take the Hanwoo!
What??! Now, that’s insulting. Why have one when you can have both. 🤣
Many people who are into wild game in warmer parts of the USA do wet aging. It is basically the same process as dry aging but the meat retains its water content. This allows someone who doesn't have access to an entire meatlocker to age their game meat in an iced cooler. The collagen breaks down and some of the other aging processes still occur. It is definitely a good way to age venison. I don't know anything about Korean Beef, but my two cents on this aging process is that it retains the original weight of the steak (in water) but enhances the flavor and texture.
It would be impossible to keep the quality affordable given current supply levels if exports were legal. Great videos and thank you for visiting all of our countries!! We hope you enjoy the experience as much as you do, Guga!😊
I live in Korea. Pretty sure that’s Jeju ale which you can buy in most convenient stores. It’s not difficult to get beer at all.
I visited Hong Kong earlier this year and went to Beefbar for a special occasion.
The expat waiter asked us if we wanted to try something we couldn’t get stateside and recommended the Hanwoo beef. Tried Hanwoo and Kobe side by side and thought the Hanwoo was better.
As a beef fanatic, i loved waygyu but after i tried hanwoo i travel when i can every year to indulge in hanwoo as two proteins are amazing but hanwoo stands higher to my palate and you can eat more as less fatty.
Japan was a Buddhist country until the Western-style modernization , and was historically a vegetarian country. On the other hand, Korea has historically been a country that eats a lot of beef. The Japanese government thought that the Japanese people's body size was small because they did not eat meat and milk, and accordingly, meat and milk were supplied to the people, but because they did not eat meat, recipes and breeding were not carried out. As a result, after the colonization of Korea, the Japanese government supplied more than 1.5 million Korean cows to Korea during the period of domination, and improved Wagyu based on Korean beef. In addition, Yakiniku, a Japanese-style recipe, is also a recipe developed by Koreans who migrated to Japan or were forcibly taken away during the Japanese occupation period, so there are many differences between Wagyu and Korean beef. I'm not criticizing wagyu. I like both wagyu and hanwoo.
I live in Thailand and the Thais love their pork, chicken, and fish or sea food. They are 99 percent buddhist. A few people eat beef but most Thai beef is horrible
japanese are also lactose intolerant
Thnx guga!!! Im korean... Love your channel!!! Best steak lab channel ever!!!
Hanwoo is rarely exported due to demand at home, only recently did Hong Kong receive the approval to serve Hanwoo. “It’s a very special breed because it takes a long time to get consistent cattle,” explains associate director Andrew Lee Chi-ho of the first firm in Hong Kong to import Hanwoo beef. “It takes five to 10 generations, 15 to 30 years, to get consistent marbling, flavour and good structure.”
Unlike the practices in the U.S., Korea gives very special attention to each cattle. Each cattle has its own electronic ID registered in the national database which details the care, shots received, and treatment history of each animal.
What a cool experience man - thanks for sharing Guga !!!
Thank you Guga! I'm going to try it next year when I go to Korea, Philippines, Japan!