Spicy pork and vegetables over rice

Today’s recipe is an easy, one bowl meal that’s spicy, a little sweet, and savory: Jeyuk-deopbap, spicy pork and vegetables over rice (or spicy pork rice bowl)! I love the soft pork, slightly crispy vegetables, and spicy, garlicky aroma. A spoonful of jeyuk-deopbap just melts in my mouth, so delicious!

Pork dishes in Korean cuisine usually have strong flavors and seasonings like hot pepper paste (gochujang), hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu), and/or garlic, which can make them all a little similar. But this one has a juicy, brothy sauce that softens the vegetables and where the paper-thin pork cooks quickly and mixes nicely. Everything incorporates well in that juicy sauce. I prefer to add an over easy egg with a runny yolk to add more flavor and color, like bibimbap. It’s a great combination!

This is a common restaurant item in Korea, especially in the big food courts that are in the basements of large department stores. I used to get it when I lived in Korea. It’s very easy to make and easy to clean up after. Everything in one plate and then finished with a happy stomach!

This recipe is very simple and fast, so just follow it step by step and you can’t go wrong. The #1 tip is to cut the pork thinly. I refrigerate it for about 2 hours before slicing so it was more solid and easier to do.

You can’t eat pork? Then use chicken or beef, or use vegetarian meat such as seitan if you’re a vegetarian. You can always modify this recipe to your taste.

Ingredients (for 3 to 4 servings):

• 1 pound pork shoulder (or tenderloin), sliced paper thin
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 ounces cabbage, sliced
• 1 small peeled carrot (about 2 ounces), sliced
• 6 green onions, cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces
• 1 green chili pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon peeled ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• over easy eggs, optional

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
• ¼ cup gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
• 1 teaspoon potato starch
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Make the sauce:

1. Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix it well with a spoon. Set aside.

Cook:

1. Heat up the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for a minute with a wooden spoon until they are a little crispy.
2. Stir in the pork and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until it’s no longer pink.
3. Add cabbage, carrot, onion, green chili pepper, and onion. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 3 minutes until the vegetables are slightly cooked.
4. Uncover and add the seasoning sauce. Increase the heat to medium high and cook another 3 minutes, stirring with the wooden spoon, until everything is nicely cooked and incorporated. Stir in sesame oil and remove from heat.

Serve:

1. Put some freshly made rice on individual large serving plates. Add the pork and vegetables next to the rice and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds over top.
2. Add the egg to the top of rice and serve right away. You can serve with a few more side dishes (if desired).

A few side dishes that I prepared for the video:

• Quick-fermenting dongchimi
• Stir-fried dried anchovies and nuts
• Green onion kimchi