Korean Spicy Pork (Jeyuk bokkeum)

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 !