There were so many unfamiliar ingredients (e.g., kimchi, all those various pastes and sauces, etc. etc.) and such an abundance of dishes (the banchan alone is enough to make any well meaning at home cook throw up their hands and pony up $50 instead) that I didn’t even know where to start. But as many of you have probably experienced on this blog, those seemingly out-of-reach dishes and recipes are often easier than your overburdened Seamless order history/takeout menu drawer could have hoped. You’re browsing the Internet for a recipe one minute, and the next thing you know, you’re chowing down on a plate of [insert intimidating dish here] and patting yourself on the back for a job well done.
An Incredibly Easy Korean Recipe
Indeed, after some much needed Internet soul searching, we stumbled upon Maangchi, YouTube authority on demystifying both well-known and obscure Korean foods, and all my Korean cooking prayers were answered. Pretty soon, I was whipping up Soondubu and Kimchi Jigae on the reg, and experimenting with ways to make quick and easy dishes like this one. One of my absolute favorite dishes to eat at a Korean restaurant is Dubu Kimchi (my sister actually did her own quick recipe for it three years ago, which you can find here–forgive our noob photo quality), which usually consists of pork, kimchi, and maybe some rice cakes and/or noodles, all cooked together in a savory, spicy sauce and served with tofu. These Crispy Pork Belly Kimchi bowls conjure up the same flavors, but this dish is also insanely easy to make.
You only need 8 ingredients, and as you can see from the recipe instructions, which take up all of 5 sentences, you can whip it up a couple Crispy Pork Belly Kimchi Bowls in just 10 minutes. But don’t get the wrong idea. Just because this recipe is fast doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a ton of flavor. It tastes just as good as any dish I’ve had while crammed into a booth in Koreatown, and The Woks of Life peanut gallery agrees. Ok, here’s how to make it!
Recipe Instructions
Heat a wok or skillet over high heat just until smoking. Add the oil, followed by the pork belly, and stir-fry for 1 minute (or until slightly caramelized).
Add the onion, kimchi, and sugar, and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add the Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste) and cook for another minute.
Serve these pork belly kimchi bowls over steamed medium grain rice, and garnish with chopped scallions.
