Spicy Pork Bulgogi (Dwaejibulgogi) – Quick + Easy (VIDEO)

Ingredients for Spicy Pork Bulgogi

You’re going to love how quickly Spicy Pork Bulgogi comes together at home – and the best part is, the list of ingredients are mostly items you already have in your pantry!

Seasonings

• Gochujang – Gochujang is a Korean pepper paste that is spicy, sweet, with a hint of umami. It has a STRONG flavor, so you only need a little to go a long way. I would adjust this to your spice preference – if you are new to the flavor or don’t enjoy spice as much, I would even start with 1/2 of what the recipe calls for!
• Light Soy Sauce – Use light soy sauce (not low sodium) or all-purpose soy sauce. Do NOT use dark soy sauce!
• Sugar
• Gochugaru – Gochugaru is Korean chili flakes or chili powder – for this recipe, you want to use the chili flakes. Gochugaru is spicy and intense in flavor – if you are sensitive to spice, I would recommend you use less.
• Black Pepper
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sesame Oil
• White Onion
• Scallion

What kind of Pork Belly should I buy?

• I like to use thin slices, roughly 1/8″ or 3mm, which is very thin. I like how it doesn’t take very long to marinate the thin slices and they cook nicely/quickly in the pan.
• You can use thicker slices if that is what you prefer; just note that the meat may need to be marinated for longer.
• I buy them pre-sliced at my local Korean grocery (H Mart). If you can’t find them pre-sliced, you may be able to ask the butcher to slice it for you.
• If you can’t buy it pre-sliced and want to slice it at home, I recommend you freeze the pork belly for 10 minutes before slicing. It’ll make the slicing a lot easier.
• If you can’t find pork belly, you can also use pork shoulder/butt.
• If you cannot use or eat pork, you can also substitute with thinly sliced chicken thighs!

Spicy Pork Bulgogi: Recipe Instructions

1. Make the Marinade

The first step in making this recipe is mixing together the marinade.

In a medium to large mixing bowl, add gochujang, light soy sauce, sugar, gochugaru, sesame oil, black pepper, chopped garlic, and ginger.

Mix together the ingredients in a bowl until you get a loose paste, similar to the photo below. You don’t want the marinade too thick, otherwise it will be difficult to mix it in with the pork belly.

2. Marinate the Pork

Once the marinade is thoroughly mixed, add in the thinly sliced pork belly, along with the thinly sliced onions and scallions.

Using your hand (I recommend wearing a glove here), mix all the ingredients together until the pork is thoroughly coated in the marinade. The best part about this recipe is that it doesn’t take long to marinate – I usually let the pork belly marinate for about 15-30 minutes.

3. Cook The Pork

In a large pan, cook the pork over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. If you are using 1/4″ slices, 4-5 minutes will be enough for the pork to be completely cooked. (If you want to cook this over a grill, that would also taste great!)

I personally like my Spicy Pork Bulgogi to be crispy, so I let it cook until the fat is rendered out and the pork crisps up.

What to Eat / Serve with Spicy Pork Bulgogi?

One of the best parts of Korean BBQ is the Korean side dishes (called “banchan”) – so when making Korean Beef Bulgogi at home, I would serve it with my favorite side dishes: