Balls and Walnuts
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Daeji Bulgogi
I live in a city where the only Korean restaurant has a big fat B sign in the window . . . and so I am continually torn between risking dysentery and getting my Korean fix. Mind you, I’ve been in this situation before. I’ve lived in the land of Mexican, Chinese, and Nothing Else Ethnic, and I’ve prevailed by dint of my own clever craft. And the internet.
Hence Daeji Bulgogi, marinated slices of pork grilled over coals or, if you’re lazy like me, seared under the broiler. The linked recipe is simple, delicious, all around wonderful. Here are the ingredients, to which I’ve made only one (arguably critical) substantive substitution:
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce*
1 1/2 tablespoons sambal oelek or Thai chile paste**
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced***
*I used regular soy sauce. No, it wasn’t too salty. Daeji bulgogi is meant to be eaten with steamed rice, to tone down any excess saltiness or spiciness. But to my palate, this was neither too salty nor too peppery and didn’t really need the rice. But that’s be.
**This is the critical substitution. Instead of Thai chili paste or sambal oelek, I used a Korean red pepper paste (kochujang — I used “Hot Pepper Paste” imported by Rhee Bros. Inc.) We have a halfway decent Chinese market which also carries Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, and Filipino foodstuffs. Wasn’t hard finding kochujang.
***I used more garlic than that. I always use more.
OMG I was looking for a picture of kochujang and found this recipe for potatoes in kochujang and red miso. Sounds amazing.
First, I mixed up the marinade in a gallon bag. Next, I cut my pork chops into 1 inch square chunks and pounded the chunks flat. I then marinated the pork slices in the bag for about 45 minutes.
I spread the pork out on a rack and set the rack over a cookie sheet lined with heavy duty foil. I had some space left over, so I coarsely chopped one onion and shook it in the bag with the leftover marinade. I placed the chopped onion next to the pork and stuck it all under the broiler. After about five minutes, I flipped all of my pieces and put them back under the broiler until I saw some black bits — maybe another five minutes.
I served this with steamed white rice and a very simple asparagus dish (this recipe, using sesame seeds instead of pine nuts).
Yummy indeed.
D.
