Korean BBQ Spicy Pork with Kimchi & Sprout Salad

In the town where I went to college there was a small Korean BBQ restaurant that I ate at multiple times per week for years. It was so good and one of the highlights was the spicy pork dish served with white rice, kimchi, and a sprout salad.

I haven't lived there for a long time but I continue to crave this dish. So a few years ago I researched it and combined several different recipes and tweaked them to match my fond memories of this dish.

Of note, the pork is best when marinated overnight. The sprout salad also benefits from being made a bit ahead and allowing the flavors to blend for a few hours in the refrigerator. So plan ahead!

Ingredients:

Korean BBQ Pork:
1 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder (pork butt), sliced into very thin slices - You can ask a butcher to do this for you. On your own it is best to work with a slightly frozen piece of pork which makes slicing thin easier. A deli slicer makes the work much easier and more consistent. Finally, I usually pound the sliced pork with a mallet inside a large ziploc bag to tenderize a bit more.
1/2 onion, sliced into thin strips
3 green onions, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1/4 cup gochujang - Gochujang is a Korean fermented red pepper paste. It can be found in most markets in the Asian foods section or in Asian markets. It has a very unique flavor that is critical to the success of this dish. Most available brands have gluten in them but I've found a couple that don't. My favorite is by the JayOne brand.
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine, such as sake
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, peanut, etc.)
Sesame seeds, to garnish
Cooked rice & kimchi for serving - I use my own fermented kimchi (the recipe is posted on this blog in August of 2021) but you can use any store bought brand you like.
Additional gochujang to be served as a condiment at the table if you like a bit of additional spice and flavor

Sprout Salad:
350g (0.8 lb) fresh bean sprouts - I often make close to double this because it is a tasty snack and I like to have leftovers to enjoy over the next few days.
1 tsp sea salt
6 cups water
1 tsp finely chopped green onion
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp sesame oil

1. Mix marinade ingredients (garlic, ginger, gochujang, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, & black pepper) in a large bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for gochujang, spice, and salt. It should be intensely flavored. Add in the pork, onions and green onions and stir to coat thoroughly. Cover tightly or put in a ziploc and refrigerate overnight.

2. For the sprout salad, boil water in a pot and add 1 tsp of salt. Once boiling, add sprouts and let sit for only 2 minutes. Immediately drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water.

​3. Squeeze the sprouts in your hands to remove as much excess water as possible and put in a mixing bowl. Add green onion, garlic, salt, sesame seeds, and sesame oil. Mix well to combine. Taste and adjust salt to taste. A little extra salt makes the flavor really pop. Letting this sit covered in the fridge for at least a couple hours helps all the flavors and the salt integrate.

4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan or grill pan over high heat. Cook pork, in batches if needed to avoid crowding (if crowded they throw off a lot of liquid and don't brown/caramelize nicely, they just kinda stew), until crispy and browned around the edges, about 3-4 minutes.

5. Serve pork piled on white rice with kimchi and sprout salad on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds and additional gochujang as desired.

I hope you enjoy this Korean BBQ as much as I do! It may not be a nostalgic flavor for you like it is for me, but it is a delicious dish nonetheless!