Today we’re preparing thin-sliced Korean pork, prepared with a gochujang marinade that’s equal parts sweet, spicy, and smoky. Today’s pork is perfect as the meat for tacos, or rolled in flatbreads, or served plated over greens or rice.
Why to Try Today’s Spicy Pork Strips
1) The Marinade. The marinade for today’s pork strips are pleasantly spicy, just a touch sweet, and deliciously smoky. As a nice bonus, this marinade would work equally well with chicken or beef, or as a glaze for things like burgers or ribs.
2) Plated or Wrapped. Today’s pork strips would work excellently either wrapped in a flatbread with warmed greens, or layered into a taco with cheese, onions, and lettuce. Conversely, you could do as we’re doing today, and simply serve it plated.
3) It Keeps. Today’s pork strips will likely taste even better a day or two after they’ve been ‘setting’ in the marinade, and heat up quite nicely. However, to be aware that they ‘will’ get noticeably spicier as they marinate.
Ingredient Notes, Tips, and Substitutions
1) Gochujang. What is it? Gochujang is Korean chili paste, and is unique in that despite being moderately spicy, it retains definite ‘chili sweetness,’ carried on lush savory (or smoky) notes. Like ‘most’ commercially available chili pastes, gochujang is very versatile, being great for adding spice to everything from sauces to dips to marinades. For that reason, chili paste has been a ‘forever staple’ in my pantry for almost three decades now. I became acquainted with bottled chili paste back in the early-1990s via a local Korean market, which stocked a single variety of Indonesian-style chili paste; ‘sambal,’ which has a watery consistency and is more of an ‘ingredient’ as opposed to being a ‘sauce’ or ‘condiment.’ Gochujang is also quite thick, having roughly the consistency of brown mustard, as compared to the somewhat ‘watery’ consistency I had become accustomed to in the ‘oelek’ variety of sambal. A cursory look at the primary ingredients in gochujang is enough to ‘decode’ its pleasantly complex flavor profile. Those primary ingredients include glutinous rice (the source of its thickness), meju powder (fermented soybeans), Korean Red Chilies, and salt. The sauce’s sweetness comes largely from the glutinous rice, but is added to via the choice in chilies, since Korean peppers have a decided sweetness lurking beneath their heat. Naturally, the meju and glutinous rice give the paste its consistency, while the smoky notes come courtesy of the peppers and meju.
2) Crushed whole Peppercorns vs Cracked Pepper vs Ground Pepper. Crushed whole peppercorns are what we’re using today because we want the full aroma of the pepper, as well as the ‘bright’ and ‘fresh’ notes associated with the whole peppercorns. Seriously, bite into one of these, then compare it to cracked or ground pepper, and you’ll instantly see what I mean. The cracked and ground pepper is almost ‘stale’ tasting by comparison, and has very little aroma.
Substitution: If you don’t have whole peppercorns, or simply don’t feel like grinding them down, pre-ground pepper will substitute just fine. According to Food52 one teaspoon of peppercorns equates to about a teaspoon and a half of ground pepper. For reference, The Spice House gives a slightly different measurement, where they state that eight peppercorns equate to about one quarter of a teaspoon of ground pepper. As there are roughly 65 peppercorns in a teaspoon (yes, I counted), this would equate to about two teaspoons. Thus, use ‘about’ one and half to two teaspoons of ground pepper.
More Korean Favorites
1) Korean Beef Burgers. Beef burgers mixed and then fried with a cayenne and gochujang-based glaze. This glaze is added at each stage of the burger’s preparation, the mixing, frying, and then again when the burger is finally being assembled on homemade buns. The end result is a decadently juicy burger, that spicy with just a hint of sweetness, alongside layers of ‘chili flavor’ and umami notes.
2) Korean Pork Tacos. I love Korean pork, and I love tacos. And yes, I now love Korean Pork Tacos. The pork is soaked in a pear and gochujang marinade, with lots of fresh ginger and garlic. We grill the pork, and then pile it onto our homemade wheat tortillas with sliced jalapeno, tomatoes, red onion, and lettuce.
3) Bulgogi Eggrolls. These sweet and spicy Korean Beef (Bulgogi) Eggrolls feature beef marinated in fresh ginger, lots of garlic, fresh chili paste, brown sugar, and soy sauce. This creates a delicious combination of sweet and spicy set against a savory umami background. Wrapped in crisped fried eggroll wrappers, these are perfect for your next gameday spread.
Spicy Korean Pork
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. boneless pork rib end - sliced very thin
- Your favorite salad leaves - I used arugula. It is tradition though to used whole lettuce leaves.
For the Marinade:
- 1 sweet onion - sliced very thin
- 1 tbs. Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbs. Gochujang
- 1 1/2 tbs. honey
- 2 tsps. black pepper corns - crushed in a mortar and pestle
- 1 tbs. sesame oil
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients for the marinade in a medium sized bowl and toss.
- Slice the pork into thin slices. Tip: It is easier to slice the pork if it is slightly frozen.
- Place the pork into the marinade and toss. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to overnight.
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan. Place a few slices of pork in the hot pan and cook. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pork slices. Cook until slightly charred and cooked through, this should take 3 – 5 minutes, again depending on the thickness of the pork.
- Serve with your favorite salad greens and rice if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Asian
Luna S says
I have to show this to my husband! He loves spicy dishes, thanks for sharing this.
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Luna,
Thank you for visiting. I hope that you and your husband like this dish if you decide to give it a try. Please let me know how you enjoy it. xo
Samantha Donnelly says
I always find it difficult to think what to do with pork apart from my usual go too meals. This sounds amazing and will be one to try
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Samantha,
Thank you for visiting. I hope that you enjoy this pork dish if you give it a try. It is something a bit different from the standard pork dishes. Please let me know how you enjoy it. xo
Cristina Petrini says
I really appreciate the spicy taste and I am of the idea that with pork, fat, it also manages to compensate for this side, which is a bit heavy in taste!
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Cristina,
Thank you for visiting and taking the time to write. I think that the pork goes well too with the spices. xo
Mosaic Murals says
This looks so so good! I would love to make this meal, I love Korean pork.
Catherine Pappas says
I hope that you enjoy this dish if you give it a try. I love the Korean flavors too. They are so much fun to work with. Thank you always for visiting. xo
Lisa says
My mouth’s watering! I love Korean pork dishes, especially a spicy one like this. Will be trying this out for the family.
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for visiting. I love Korean dishes too. I hope that you and your family enjoy this dish. Please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to write. xo
Melanie Edjourian says
This sounds like a gorgeous flavourful dish. Perfect for my husband as he doesn't get to eat pork often.
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Melanie,
thank you for visiting. I hope that your husband enjoys this dish. I hope he likes his food a bit spicy! Please let me know how you like it. xo
Heather says
This sounds and looks delicious! Are you able to adjust the spice level?
Catherine Pappas says
Dear Heather,
I always feel a recipe is a suggestion and you may always adjust it to your liking. You may taste the marinade as you are putting it together to see if it needs adjusting and work with the flavor. If you want it less spicy, cut in half the Gochugaru, Gochujang and the black pepper corns. This adjustment will make it much less spicy. Please let me know how you enjoyed this and thank you for visiting. xo
Talya Stone says
This looks absolutely delicious. Do you think it would work just as well if you substituted the meat for say chicken or beef?
Living the Gourmet says
Dear Talya,
Absolutely! You may substitute chicken or beef for the pork.
Please let me know how it comes out and how you enjoyed it.
Thank you Talya for visiting. xo
Risa Lopez says
I would love the beef as a substitute! Looks so yummy! I'm sure my sis will love this since we both love korean foods.
Natalie says
I keep hearing good things about gochujang sauce but have never tried it myself! Thanks for the cooking inspo.
Yeah Lifestyle says
I do love Korean food but don't cook it often enough at home. Looking forward to trying out this spicy pork recipe
Jupiter Hadley says
We try to eat a variety of food but I never know what to do with pork! This recipe looks really amazing, and I can't wait to add it to my pork recipe collection. Thank you for sharing.
Becky, Cuddle Fairy says
This looks absolutely delicious and full of flavour! I don't know if my local store sells Gochujang but I am going to check and see, I'd love to make this.
Alex K says
Could I use sliced pork loin for this recipe?
Living the Gourmet says
Hi Alex, thank you for stopping by! Great question and yes you absolutely can use the marinade for sliced pork loin! I do hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂 Happy Cooking!