My, my. Just thinking of this dish makes my mouth water !

Jeyuk bokkeum is my companion’s absolute favourite in Korean restaurants -and it would be mine if not for Kimchi Jigae. It consists in very thinly sliced pork marinated in a beautiful, bright red sauce, and served with rice. It is as simple as it is tasty.

This version is a pan-fried one, where I add veggies ; along with the meat, they release all their delicious juices, resulting in a tasty red sauce that drips over your rice. However, you could also prepare this dish barbecue-style if you own a table barbecue, for a smokier taste ; if so, you shouldn’t include veggies, or very little, as they’d release too much moisture. I’ll make a barbecue version someday !

All the flavours come from the rather simple Gochujang (red pepper paste) and Gochugaru (red pepper flakes) marinade. Don’t forget to add loads of garlic, and to balance this savoury sauce with a bit of sugar  The sesame oil also makes a world of difference. In the end, you get a spicy, savoury, sweet, tangy sauce full of depth ; thanks to the vegetables, some delicate vegetal flavours offset the meaty ones.

Besides, as the meat is paper-thin, you only need to marinate it around 30 minutes. This dish is definitely a weeknight one -provided you’re OK with spending a small hour in the kitchen. I guarantee anyone who can take a bit of heat will ask for seconds.

Bon appétit !

Korean Spicy Pork – Recipe

Ingredients – Advice & key points

• Pork:
  • I like to use a mix of pork belly, with its delicious fatiness, bringing in lots of flavour, and pork shoulder, which is leaner, for a meatier texture. Definitely feel free to use one or the other, depending on your personal preference and your meat availability !
  • You can buy your pork pre-sliced at the fresh or frozen section of your Asian grocery store, if the store is large enough.
  • If you cannot find it, it’s ok ; you can easily slice the meat paper-thin at home ! You will only need to freeze your cut around 1 hour (maybe more, depending on its size) to make it easier to cut. It should be quite solid, but not rock-solid. I often do this even if I can get frozen pre-sliced meat, simply because it is easier for me to check the meat’s quality when I buy it from by butcher.

• I find it important to cut your meat paper-thin ; the texture is more pleasant, as well as the taste, which might be a tad too bold with large pieces.
• The remaining ingredients are either basic Asian pantry items or produce you can easily find at the grocery store.
• This dish is spicy, but not crazy spicy. If you want to lower the heat, reduce the Gochugaru amount -or even remove it altogether.

How to eat Korean Spicy Pork

• You can eat it like on the picture, over a bowl of rice, or with rice on the side. I like to pour the pork over the rice so get all the delicious juices directly on top of my rice.
• You can also, of course, wrap your pork in lettuce leaves, with some rice, Ssamjang and a bit of kimchi !

Let’s dig into it !

Print Recipe

Korean Spicy Pork (Jeyuk bokkeum)

Author: Multicarbs Cooking Method: Pan-frying Cuisine: Asian cuisines, Korean cuisine Courses: Main dish, Pork, Rice Recipe Keys: Sans maïs Sans œufs

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 30 min Cook Time 20 min Total Time 50 mins

Servings: 6

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

Savoury, juicy pork packed with flavour thanks to a fiery and garlicky Gochujang-based marinade. 

The Koreans love it. I love it. I know you will, too. 

Ingredients

Servings

• 500 grams pork belly (sliced paper-thin)
• 250 grams pork shoulder (sliced paper-thin)
• 1 onion (sliced)
• ¹⁄₂ small zucchini (cut into matchsticks)
• ¹⁄₂ medium carrot (cut into matchsticks)
• 130 grams cabbage (shredded/thinly sliced)
• 4 scallions (cut into 3 to 4 parts)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1,5 tablespoon neutral oil (to cook the pork)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

For the Marinade

• 6 tablespoons gochujang (6 tbsp = 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup)
• 2 tablespoons gochugaru (reduce or remove if you want to lower the heat)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1,5 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons potato starch
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
• ¹⁄₈ cup water
• ³⁄₄ teaspoons ginger (minced)
• 6 garlic cloves (minced)

Instructions

1. Prepare your ingredients & marinade !

   If not using pre-sliced pork, 1h before you start prepping, put your pork in the freezer.

   To a large mixing bowl, add your marinade ingredients. Mix. 

   Cut you pork into paper-thin slices first, if needed, then it bite-sized pieces.

   Add your meat to the marinade. Mix well with your hands. Set aside for 30 minutes.

   Meanwhile, with a knife, shred your cabbage. Peel and cut into matchsticks your carrot and zucchini.

   Slice your onion, and cut your scallions in 3 to 4 parts. 

   When adding your meat, make sure each piece or meat is separated from the others and coated with the marinade, as the paper-thin pieces may tend to stick together.

2. Cooking time !

   Heat up a large pan to medium-high heat, with your neutral oil.

   Cook your pork until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

   Add your veggies and spring onion. Cover and let it cook around 12 minutes, or until the veggies are done to your liking.  

   Turn off the heat, add your sesame oil and mix. 

   Serve over some hot short-grain rice & add some toasted sesame seeds on top of your pork.

   If you want to, you can also serve the pork with lettuce or perilla leaves, ssamjang and kimchi ! Yum ! 

   Et voilà !! You're done !

Keywords: home made, pork, spicy, spicy pork, pork belly, stir-fried, meat, juicy, saucy, comforting