Earlier in the summer, I wrote about my love for dak gui and dak galbi, both of which are spicy chicken dishes. Well, jeyuk bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork) is basically the pork version of those dishes. So, naturally I’m a fan and if you like those dishes, you’ll like this one, as well.
Jeyuk Bokkeum (Spicy Stir-Fried Pork) — 재육 볶음
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 13 oz. pork fillet or loin, thinly sliced
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water to soften, stems discarded, caps sliced*
- 2 to 4 large red or green chilies, seeded and sliced**
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 scallions, sliced
- 5 oz kimchi, squeezed dry and thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted and coarsely crushed while still warm
Seasoning:
- 4 Tbsp. Korean red pepper paste (gochujang)***
- 1 to 2 tsp. Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru)****
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1½ Tbsp. soy sauce*****
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. rice wine
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
*You can buy these mushrooms in Asian grocery stores and rehydrate them by soaking them in hot water for 15-20 minutes. If the mushrooms are still not soft after soaking, simmer them in a pot for 10 more minutes. (See photo above.)
**The type of pepper that Koreans use in this dish is basically a red chili pepper. The shape is long and thin; see photos above. You can find these peppers at Korean grocery stores.
***You can buy gochujang in plastic, tub-like containers at Asian grocery stores or for $10 on Amazon.com. The tubs are easy to identify, even if you don’t read Korean, because they are always red in color, to match their contents. (See photo above.)
****You can find plastic bags of Korean red pepper powder (called gochugaru in Korean) at Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.com for about $13 a pound. The consistency is between a coarse powder and a fine flake, so gochugaru is sometimes called red pepper powder or hot pepper powder and sometimes called red chili flakes. The photos above show gochugaru in packaging and loose in a bowl.
*****To make this dish gluten free, I used San-J Organic Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (available at Whole Foods or for $6.69 + shipping on Amazon.com.)
Steps
- Prepare seasonings by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and stirring until sugar is dissolved.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and add pork. Stir-fry over high heat for about 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms, chilies, onion, scallions and kimchi. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the seasoning sauce and continue stir-frying until the pork is cooked, about 3 minutes.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
[From The Food of Korea]
