Cooking shows galore! They have really taken off over the past few years in Korea with so many cooking tutorial shows, cooking game shows, nutrition shows, restaurant touring shows and the list goes on. Being a chef in Korea was not a career that was looked highly upon but the view has changed recently with all of the recent shows and rising celebrity chefs. And of course, I indulge in several of these which make me drool …
One of the top popular shows is samsi sekki (삼시세끼), meaning three meals a day. The cast lives in a small rural or fishing village for 3 days a week and uses ingredients that the members find, dig up, fish up themselves. The show has now gone through 6 seasons and one of the most popular cast members is Cha Seung Won, an actor in Korea. He became known as “Cha-jumma” – ahjumma in Korean refers to a married woman in Korea. A bit stereotype of a name but his knife and cooking skills earned him this great nickname as he shocked all of the viewers with his never-ending amount of hidden skills 😉 I didn’t really watch this show much but a lot of recipes have popped up online, of course. And I’m only exploring them way after the trend has passed.
the actor chef himself
So, today’s recipe! Taken directly from Cha-jumma is jaeyook bokum or stir-fried spicy pork. This is a very popular dish in Korea that can really be found in many standard Korean restaurants or BBQ restaurants. If you’ve had Korean food or looked up recipes, you’ve probably already seen a version of this. There’s no denying Koreans love for pork and this bbq dish is the perfect mixture of spicy and sweet with our favorite cut of meat stir-fried to perfection. The recipe is now slightly dated because the show aired early 2015 but is still a very popular recipe.
This recipe differs slightly from many of the stir-fried spicy pork standard recipes.
- The spicy sauce is not pre-marinated as it often is. The pork is marinated only in a simple soy sauce base and cooked first before the spicy sauce is added. The theory is that the spicy marinade will combine with the meat better once the meat has begun to cook and will result in a deeper flavor.
- He adds no red pepper paste, which is usually a given for this dish, to result in a more lighter taste that brings out the flavors of both the meat and sauce. This recipe seasons heavily on red pepper flakes instead for the spicy flavor but to let the bbq meat flavor shine. – My personal opinion is to cook the dish as is but add in about 2 Tbsp of red pepper paste to the sauce. I enjoy the deeper saucy flavor but this is only personal preference!
Nevertheless, a wonderful recipe by Cha-jumma! ready?
(ooh, look at the steam coming up)
| Servings |
4 people
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Ingredients
- 1.75 lbs (800 g) pork pork belly or pork shoulder
- 1 large green onion
- 2 spicy green peppers serrano or jalapeno
Meat Marinade
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
Spicy Sauce
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 7 Tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp pureed onion (1/4th onion)
- 1 Tbsp Mirin (rice cooking wine)
- dash of pepper
- drop of sesame oil
- ** Optional: 1-2 Tbsp red pepper paste original cha seung won's recipe does not include red pepper paste but I enjoyed adding 1-2 Tbsp depending on the level of spiciness
Ingredients
Meat Marinade
Spicy Sauce
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Instructions
- Mix the simple soy sauce based marinade together with the pork and set aside. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Puree half of a small onion with an immersion blender or mixer. If you only have a food processor, blend as fine as possible. Add all of the sauce ingredients together into a bowl and mix well.
- Stir-fry the pork in a large fry pan or wok.
- Once the meat is about 70% cooked through (no more red), add in the spicy sauce and pureed onion. (The tip from Cha Seungwon is that once the meat is cooked, the marinade will blend more thorough into the meat and result in a deeper flavor).
- Bring the heat to high and stir-fry the pork until the marinade is evenly combined and add in the prepared green onions and pepper. Cook over high-heat so the meat and sauce can be cooked quickly and doesn't create too much juice or moisture during the process. Once the meat is cooked through, you're done!
I truly enjoyed the recipes that you make. It’s very easy to find the ingredients even in a country who don’t have Korean cooking’s product. I’m not cravin for the food now because i can make it now.
I found your Kang’s Kitchen omurice recipe from pinterest and it lead me here.
Thank you so much
Hello:) thanks so much for sharing Chajumma’s recipes & Kangs Kitchen recipes! been making lots of them & so yum!
Currently watching the new 3 meals Fishing Village:) hoping to see new recipes here too! 💜
Thanks for the comment! His recipes are unique and easy. Will be posting more soon 🙂