A few weeks ago (after much Amazon researching), we finally bought a burner to cook stews or meat right at the table! This means Korean BBQ on the dinner table at home in PJs! I used to love (and still do) when my dad cooked us meat at the side of our dinner table and was missing this home cooked Korean BBQ tradition. This is a big win for my home body especially with the winter months of Boston ahead.
For our first table side Korean BBQ we opted for spicy bean sprout pork bulgogi inspired by Baek Jong Won. While I already mentioned that his recipes aren’t always my favorite because they tend to be overly sweet, his recipes are a really good place to start especially with the simplicity and easiness of his recipes.
This spicy bean sprout pork bulgogi doesn’t require a burner at the table and can be cooked in the kitchen and brought to the table in a pretty serving bowl when finished.. but it makes it a lot more fun if you can cook it at the table and watch eagerly as the bean sprouts begin to release juices while the spicy sauce begins to seep into the bean sprouts and meat. This dish starts with a mound of healthy bean sprouts that will look to overflow the fry pan but it will loose it’s volume as the bean sprouts start to cook and release the delicious juice. Do not second guess the recipe because the portion does not look right at first! It will come together, trust me. The best part about this dish though is that it’s amazingly easy. Just wash a few vegetables, bring out the meat and put together a sauce that is simply made from ingredients found most commonly in Korean cooking. It will look fancy at the end of the day so no one will know it only took 5 minutes.
- 400 g thinly sliced pork belly (slightly less than a pound) – 대패삼겸살
- 320 g bean sprout (usually one plastic bags worth) 콩나물
- 1 large green onion
- 1/2 onion
- 10 perilla leaves 깻입
- 2 spicy peppers of choice (Korean peppers, jalapeno etc)
- 1/2 large carrot
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup mushrooms (king oyster, enoki, oyster)
- Optional: 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 4 Tbsp red pepper flakes (gochu garu) – added redness for the sauce
- 3 Tbsp red pepper paste (gochujang)
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp mirin (rice cooking wine)
- 2.5 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp honey (or sugar) – reduced sugar from the original recipe
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
2 people
|
- 400 g (slightly less than a pound) thinly sliced pork belly 대패삼겸살
- 320 g bean sprout usually one plastic bags worth - 콩나물
- 1 large green onion 대파
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 large carrot
- 10 perilla leaves 깻입
- 1/3-1/2 cup mushrooms (king oyster, enoki, oyster)
- Optional: 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
- 4 Tbsp red pepper flakes 고추가루
- 3 Tbsp red pepper paste 고추장
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp Mirin (rice cooking wine) 맛술/미린
- 2.5 Tbsp minced garlic 다진마늘
- 2 Tbsp honey (or sugar)
Ingredients
Spicy Sauce
|
|
- Wash the bean sprouts and place in a strainer so the water dries out as you move on to the next steps. Slice the onions and peppers. Cut the green onions into long pieces and slice the carrots thinly but long. Cut the perilla leaves into fourths.
- Make the sauce by placing all the sauce ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
- Take out a large fry pan. Lay all the bean sprouts on the bottom and place the green onions, carrots and onions on top. Place the thin sliced pork on top of the vegetables and pour on the spicy sauce. Finally, sprinkle on the green peppers and sesame seeds. * The perilla leaves can soften too quickly so I like to add these more towards the end.
- Cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure the heat is not too strong because the bean sprouts will then stick to the fry pan. If you heat over medium heat, over time the bean sprouts will begin to release it's juices at the bottom of the pan and help to cook the other vegetables without any oil.
- Once the vegetables are cooking through, place the perilla leaves on top and mix for about one or two minutes. Continue to cook until the meat is fully cooked through.
Leave a Reply