I’m going to show you how to make spicy pork bulgogi. This spicy pork, korean style. It’s extremely flavorful and will burn your mouth with it’s intense, fiery heat. Actually making it is surprisingly simple, since your’e basically making a spicy pork bulgogi marinade. After you make this, you will be coming back to this recipe when you want to know how to cook spicy pork! So try this spicy pork bulgogi recipe today! I swear, you’re going to love it!
Watch how to make Spicy Pork Bulgogi
What is bulgogi?
Bulgogi is Korean for “fire meat“, which is a great name for any food. Take thin slices of marinated meat, throw them on a grill or stovetop, let it cook, and you’ve got yourself a tasty meal!
So what separates bulgogi from other types of cooked meat? After all, isn’t all cooked meat, basically “fire meat”?
The importance of marinading your spicy pork bulgogi
The marinade is the most important part of this dish! It’s where the unique, fiery, delicious flavor of a good bulgogi comes from! Without a proper marinade, you won’t be able to achieve that amazing flavor that good bulgogi has!
I create a delicious marinade with one sliced onion I’m going to use half of it for the marinade and half of it for cooking. Next I use half of a pear, remove the seeds, and peel the skin. You can also substitute this with Kiwi or Apple if you’dlike. Now, I cut it and set it aside, then slice the whites of a green onion. I reserve the greens for cooking in the final dish.
Now, I add two to three cloves of garlic, a half-inch knob of ginger, and add everything into the bowl of my food processor. To that, I add three heaping teaspoons of Korean chili paste, three teaspoons of soy sauce,
some sesame oil, sugar, two teaspoons of Korean chili flakes, a splash of cooking wine, a dash of fish sauce (or as I like to call it, liquid funk) and finally a chili pepper for some extra spiciness. Finally, I blend all of those ingredients together until it’s nice and smooth.
The marinade goes into a bowl and I add about a pound of thinly-sliced pork. I use sliced pork shoulder for this dish, but any cut is fine. This marinades for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Cooking the Spicy Pork Bulgogi
Now comes the fun part! I heat my pan over high heat with some sesame oil and then add in my sliced white and green onions. I cook them for about two minutes or until they’re softened then I add in some kimchi and cook for another two minutes.
In goes in the marinated pork and I cook it for about six minutes or until it’s cooked through. I like to amp up the flavor of my spicy pork bulgogi by making a well in the center and adding a healthy squirt of fish sauce, though you can skip this if you’d like. I let all those liquids thicken up, then I add the rest of the ingredients into the pan.
The best way to serve Spicy Pork Bulgogi
When it comes to serving this dish, I like to serve it on a bed of greens, mainly green leaf lettuce, and sesame leaf. If you’ve never had sesame leaf before, it’s a very fragrant, uniquely-flavored leaf. I’ve never had anything like it, but it goes really well with the strong flavors of this spicy pork bulgogi.
The best way to eat it is to add some onto the leaf, roll it up, then pop it in your mouth. It’s like a leafy, healthy, delicious taco!
Ingredients for a delicious Spicy pork bulgogi
As you can tell from the basic cooking process that I outlined above, the spicy pork bulgogi marinade requires quite a few ingredients! But trust me, it’s TOTALLY worth it! The specialty ingredients you’ll need are:
- Gochujang (See it on Amazon) –Â This is fermented Korean chili paste. Sweet, spicy, and very flavorful!
- Soy Sauce (See it on Amazon)
- Sesame Oil (See it on Amazon)
- Fish Sauce (See it on Amazon) –Â Optional, but packs a powerful (albeit, smelly) umami punch!
- Gochugaru (See it on Amazon) –Â Optional, but these Korean chili flakes add so much flavor!
Spicy Pork Bulgogi: A mouthful of fiery, flavorful meat!
This incredibly delicious meal is perfect for the hungry carnivore who wants something with heat and flavor! It also makes a great party food for friends who love really friggin’ delicious meat!
Want some other Korean food inspirations? Try some of these awesome Korean dishes!
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How To Make Spicy Pork Bulgogi
Ingredients
- Thinly sliced pork any cut is fine, 1 lb
- 1 Half of an onion sliced into strips
- Kimchi 1/4 cup
Fish Sauce *Optional* (See it on Amazon) - 1 stalk of green onion greens cut into 2-inch pieces
Marinade
- Onion half
- Pear half
- 1 stalk of green onion whites
- Garlic 3 cloves
- Ginger 1 half-inch knob
- 3 heaping tsp
Gochujang, fermented Korean chili paste (See it on Amazon) - 3 tsp
Soy Sauce (See it on Amazon) - 1 tsp
Sesame Oil (See it on Amazon) - Sugar 2 tsp
- 2 tsp
Gochugaru (See it on Amazon) - 1 tsp
Cooking Sake (See it on Amazon) - *optional* Fish sauce 1 tsp
- Chili pepper remove the seeds for a more mild spiciness, 1
Garnish
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Sliced green onions
- Leafy lettuce sunny lettuce, green leaf
- *optional* Sesame leaf
Instructions
- Chop all the **marinade** vegetables into rough chunks and add them into the bowl of a food processor.
- Add all the **marinade** seasoning ingredients into the food processor and process until you have a smooth sauce.
- Add the sauce to a large mixing bowl, along with the pork. Mix well and marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- In pan, cook the sliced onions and green onion pieces over medium-high heat until softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the kimchi to the pan and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the marinated pork and cook until completely cooked through, about 6 – 8 minutes.
- *optional* Make a well in the center of the pan and add 2 teaspoons of fish sauce. Mix it with the pan juices.
- Continue to cook the pork until most of the moisture has evaporated and the sauce thickens.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Serve with kimchi, lettuce, sesame leaf, and rice.
