Samgyeopsal-gui (Korean Pan-Grilled Pork Belly)
Samgyeopsal-gui is pork belly pan-grilled until golden at home. Fresh pork belly is lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, then wrapped in lettuce and perilla leaves with homemade ssamjang made from traditional soybean paste. Stir-frying aged kimchi in the pork drippings makes a delicious side.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Pork belly600 g
- Aged kimchi1/4 head
- Lettuceas needed
- Perilla leavesas needed
- Fine salta little
- Ground peppera little
- Dried basila little
Ssamjang (Wrap Sauce)
- Soybean paste (doenjang)2 tbsp
- Gochujang (red chili paste)1 tsp
- Chili powder1 tsp
- Sesame oil1 tsp
- Minced garlic1 tsp
- Plum syrup1/2 tbsp
- Sesame seeds1 tsp
Directions
- 1
Choose fresh pork belly. It's best when the lean meat and fat are well balanced at about 1:1 and the color is pink; skin-on pork belly also works well.
- 2
Season both sides of the pork belly evenly with pepper, fine salt, and dried basil. Seasoning reduces any porky smell and makes it tasty even on its own.
- 3
In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp doenjang, 1 tsp gochujang, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tbsp plum syrup, and 1 tsp sesame seeds, and mix well to make homemade ssamjang.
- 4
Wash the lettuce and perilla leaves clean, drain the water, and get them ready to serve as wrapping greens.
- 5
Preheat the pan well, lay the pork belly on it, and once the top surface starts to change color, flip and grill each side for 3–4 minutes until golden. Enough preheating keeps the juices in.
- 6
Stir-fry the aged kimchi in the fat left in the pan from cooking the meat. Wrap the grilled pork belly and stir-fried kimchi in lettuce and perilla leaves with ssamjang and enjoy.
Tips
Preheat the pan well before adding the meat so the juices don't escape too much. The right time to flip is when the top surface changes color; grilling each side for just 3–4 minutes keeps it juicy.