Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry Recipe

An genuine easy Korean marinade is the star of this spicy, sticky Korean pork stir fry that may depart you wanting extra lengthy after you licked your bowl clear! This requires simply half-hour marinating time – which may be skipped if you happen to’re in a rush!

Korean Pork Stir Fry

In the event you like BIG flavours – and I imply BIG, HUGE flavours, then this stir fry is for you. The flavours are rather more intense than traditional stir fries – it’s spicier, stickier and stronger. The jammy sauce is the sort that may have you ever smacking your lips and licking your fingers, eager to marinade the whole lot on this.

And really, you might. For individuals who have sampled Korean Fried Chicken (the “different” KFC), the flavour of the sauce shall be acquainted as a result of the sticky coating for KFC has related elements to this marinade.

A method that isn’t used broadly however is implausible for getting unbelievable flavour into marinades and sauces is grated onions and pears / apples. I first learnt about this method from my Korean hairdresser who dictates recipes to me whereas she does my roots!!!

The rationale that grating is such a implausible approach is that juice is created which types a part of the marinade. Fruit juices merely don’t evaluate – far much less flavour, even once they’re chilly pressed recent juice. And as for grated onions – to my information, you may’t purchase that!!!

I made this with pork shoulder (boneless) which is a very nice worth minimize of meat as a result of it’s sometimes thought of to be a more durable minimize suited to gradual cooking. However really, if you happen to slice it thinly in opposition to the grain, it’s great to make use of for fast cooking functions like in a stir fry.

The one ingredient on this recipe that you simply won’t have the ability to discover simply is Gochujang which is a Korean spice paste. It is available in a vivid pink tub and the paste is a deep pink color. It’s spicy, savoury with a contact of candy, and it’s a secret weapon in Korean cooking as a result of it’s go so many layers of flavour. It’s utilized in lots of Korean dishes, like Bibimbap, Kimchi Fried Rice and even the dipping sauce for the Momofuku Bossam (gradual cooked pork).

It may be bought at Korean grocery shops and most Asian grocery shops for a number of {dollars}. However don’t fear if you happen to can’t discover it, I’ve offered a substitute that yields a really related end result – my style testers really couldn’t inform the distinction!

Gochujang apart, it is a significantly fast midweek meal. I suppose you’ll be fairly shocked at how quick the ingredient listing is – because of Gochujang which gives a lot of the flavour base – and simply half-hour of marinating time.

In actual fact, I’ve made this with out marinating and it nonetheless labored out nice as a result of the flavour of the glaze is so sturdy.

I served this with plain white rice and calmly pickled greens (I popped the recipe within the notes beneath). Usually I might have served this with kimchi which is the spicy Korean pickled cabbage that’s served with virtually each dish for each meal in Korea, however I didn’t have any available.

It is a MUST TRY for anybody who loves meals with massive daring flavours!!! The sticky/candy/spicy/savory flavours remind me of Mongolian Beef. It’s fairly spicy, however not “blow your head off” spicy.

Ugh. Penning this up simply jogs my memory how lip smackingly scrumptious that is and now I’m craving it!!! I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. Utilizing chicken. YUM!

Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry Recipe

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes 5 minutes

Nutrition facts: 483 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 lb / 500g boneless pork shoulder (excess fat trimmed) (Note 1)
• 1 small pear , grated (1/2 cup) (or nashi pear OR apple) (Note 2)
• 1/2 medium onion , grated (1/4 cup) (brown, white or yellow)
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger , minced or finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove , crushed
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (all purpose or light soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean Hot Pepper Paste) OR see Note 3 for substitution
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 garlic , minced
• 1 onion , halved and sliced (brown, white or yellow)
• 1 scallion/shallot stalk , sliced
• Sesame seeds
• Rice

Instructions

1. Cut pork into thin slices. If using pork shoulder, as I did, halve it lengthwise to form two long pieces, then slice the pieces. See photo below.
2. Combine Marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add pork. Marinate for 30 minutes, or overnight.
3. To cook, heat oil in a large non stick skillet (Note 4) over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes until translucent. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes or until dark golden and caramelised, and just cooked through.
4. Serve immediately with rice – or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with sliced shallots and sesame seeds.

Notes

1. Pork shoulder is ideal for this recipe because it’s got a bit of fat marbled throughout it. At Korean BBQ, this is made using pork belly which is too fatty for a stir fry like this (in my personal view). It will also work with any pork cuts suitable for stir frying, like tenderloin, but the meat will be leaner.
2. This recipe works best with pear, next best with nashi pear and as a last substitute, red apple works great too. The use of pears and apples in marinades is a classic Korean technique which works brilliantly.
3. Gochujang is a Korean paste that is used in a lot of Korean recipes. It’s spicy and savoury, with a touch of sweet. It’s a secret weapon because it’s got so many layers of flavour! It can be purchased at Asian grocery stores (~$3), or online here (Aus) or here(US). It’s a bit difficult to make your own, but if you are interested, you can read about that here.
However! The good news if you are keen to try this and can’t get Gochujang is that you can achieve a similar flavour by using the following instead: 2 tbsp sriracha + 1 tbsp miso paste + 1/2 tsp sugar (white or brown). The stir fry does not taste exactly the same but is very similar, with the same sticky spicy slightly sweet glaze with great depth of flavour!
Also NOTE! The stir fry will taste very similar but will not come out the same dark colour, it will be paler because the sriracha / miso substitute does not have the same colour. You could compensate for this by using DARK SOY SAUCE instead of all purpose or light soy sauce that the recipe calls for which will make the colour closer to as pictured. Update: As readers note below in the comments, it still tastes amazing! It just looks different!
4. I strongly recommend cooking this in a NON STICK pan because the marinade is quite jammy so it will caramelise and stick to the pan. If you do not have a non stick pan, an easy way to clean the fry pan is to fill with some water and bring it to a simmer on the stove. This will loosen the caramelised bits stuck to the fry pan.
5. Adapted from this Dwaejibulgogi Korean Spicy BBQ Pork recipe from Maangchi, a wonderful authentic Korean food blog. The original recipe is for Korean BBQ Pork rather than a stir fry, but I find that the marinade is plentiful and comes out beautifully juicy and sticky, making it a perfect base for a simple but flavour loaded stir fry!
Traditionally, this is made with thin slices of pork belly then served in lettuce wraps with Ssamjang Korean sauce (recipe link to Maangchi website) – classic Korean BBQ way!
6. QUICK PICKLED VEGETABLES: Bring 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) to a simmer with 2 tsp sugar and 3/4 tsp salt. When sugar has dissolved, pour over 3 cups sliced cucumbers and carrots. Cool and bring to room temperature, then chill before serving. I sprinkled mine with red peppers.
7. Nutrition per serving, excluding rice. assuming this is made with pork shoulder. If made with pork tenderloin, it reduces to 297 calories per serving.