2012-2-6

For as long as they can remember, Koreans have considered beef as the top-choice red meat and pork as the cheaper sidekick.

But it now appears that lamb is making waves as a third option, according to the latest data on food imports. It should be noted that dog meat, which has yet to be officially categorized as a food item here, will continue to be kept off the list.

According to numbers by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and retailers, the country imported 4,992 tons of lamb last year, a nearly 74 percent increase from 2,870 tons in 2004.

The slew of Chinese mutton kebab places and Middle Eastern restaurants that are spreading across Seoul’s leisure districts confirm that diners are beginning to acquire a taste for a meat they once thought as ``smelly.’’

The origin of about 85 percent of the lamb imported last year was Australia, while the remainder came from New Zealand. It was in 2007 when a number of grocery chains here first imported lamb, only to be forced to halt supplies months later as consumers ignored it on the shelves.

Apparently a few years can make a world of difference. E-Mart, the country’s largest franchised discount outlet, restarted selling Australian lamb in January 2010. Its sales at the end of last year represented nearly a 120 percent jump over the preceding 12 months.

We restarted selling lamb in 2010 because there was demand from consumers who have tasted dishes containing the meat while traveling overseas and enjoyed them. Right now, most of the lamb sales are generated from repeat customers who have already acquired a taste for it, but sales have been picking up lately on the strength of word-of-mouth,’’ said an E-Mart official.

Koreans have stayed away from lamb for a long time because of the distinctive smell that was unfamiliar to them. However, it is not much of a problem if the meat is marinated in traditional Korean `bulgogi’ sauce for about a day.’’