Spicy pork bulgogi BBQ

Hello everybody, my dwaeji bulgogi recipe is here! : )

This dish is spicy, full of flavor, very simple to make and everyone loves it. It’s great for a summer BBQ and spicy food lovers will be big fans of you!

When I was invited to my friend’s BBQ party in upstate New York, I brought marinated beef, pork, and mushrooms (for vegetarians) and was planning to shoot a video for beef bulgogi. I didn’t plan on shooting a spicy pork bulgogi recipe video, but I changed my mind at the party while barbecuing marinated pork. As you can see, the recipes for beef bulgogi and pork bulgogi are very similar. The only big difference is that I add hot pepper paste to the marinade for pork bulgogi.

Some of you might be wondering what the difference is between my spicy stir-fried pork (dwaejigogi-bokkeum) recipe that I already posted and this recipe. The taste is very similar but the preparation is different. Stir-fried pork (dwaejigogi-bokkeum) is cooked in a pan or a wok over high heat with the seasoning sauce and vegetables altogether (that method of cooking is called “bokkeum” in Korean). Dwaeji bulgogi is marinated first and then grilled, pan-fried, or barbecued over charcoals. Both are delicious!

If you are looking for a vegetarian version of this recipe, the marinade can be used with other vegetables: eggplant, squash, or mushrooms. People love those versions! If you like simple spicy pork recipes, check out my jeyuk bokkeum recipe, too!

Ingredients

(3-4 servings)

• 1 pound pork belly, sliced thinly into pieces ½ inch x 2 inches and ⅛ inch thick
  tip: You can replace pork belly with pork shoulder or pork loin

For the marinade

• ½ cup of crushed Korean pear (aka “Asian pear”)
• ¼ cup onion purée
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• ½ ts of minced ginger
• 1 chopped green onion
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs of sugar and 1½ tbs rice syrup (or 2 tbs brown sugar)
• a pinch of ground black pepper
• 2 ts of toasted toasted sesame oil
• 3 tbs hot pepper paste

Directions

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add the sliced pork and mix well.
2. You can grill, pan-fry, stir-fry, or BBQ right after marinating, but it’s best to let it marinate  in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cook over medium high heat, not too hot or it will burn.
   
3. Serve with rice, ssamjang (gochujang and doenjang dipping sauce), lettuce leaves, sliced garlic cloves and green chili pepper. Perilla leaves are optional. You can also add kimchi or other banchan (side dishes) on the side if you like.
   
4. Koreans like to eat as ssam. Take a piece of pork with your chopsticks and put it on a lettuce leaf and a perilla leaf (if you have it). Add garlic, green chili pepper and ssamjang and eat the wrap in one bite! (be sure to make a wrap small enough to fit into your mouth lol)

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