Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Pork)

Jeyuk Bokkeum 제육볶음 (Korean Spicy Pork Stir Fry aka Dwaeji bulgogi). Tender pork stir-fried in a spicy, sweet and smoky sauce with onions, carrots, and garlic.

This flavor packed dish is easy to make and ready in 25 minutes!

Dweji Bulgogi is a popular Korean food is served on a sizzling plate, which is warmed over extremely hot flaming fire at the restaurant. But now you can make it in your own kitchen!

This perfect dish pairs well with steamed rice, veggies or your favorite side dishes. You can also enjoy it in a lettuce wrap. The beauty of this Korean pork recipe is that there is no marinating time and it's cooked in one large skillet!

Whenever I think of Korean BBQ, this spicy Korean pork bulgogi is one of the first meat dishes that comes to my mind. The spicy and sweet flavors from the gochujang really make this pork dish stand out from many others as it offers a barbeque-like taste, without even using the grill!

Easy Korean Spicy Pork

This Korean spicy pork bulgogi recipe is so easy and is so delicious your eyes will be rolling to the back of your head! It’s made in one pan in 25 minutes with a couple of options to make this spicier or milder and healthier or more indulgent.

In addition, there is no marinating process involved! We are simply frying the pork in a deep skillet with onions and carrots. Then adding the runny sauce to cook the ingredients and that’s it!

What you’ll need

For my stir-fried gochujang pork, you will need the following jeyuk bokkeum ingredients. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full measurements.

• Thin slices of pork shoulder: This is the main ingredient of this dish. For a more indulgent stir-fried pork, substitute with 50% pork belly and 50% pork shoulder.
  • You may substitute with any cut of pork slices with some fat marbling through are the key to this spicy Korean pork stir-fry. Thinly sliced pork shoulder can be found at many Asian grocers in the frozen section or you can ask your butcher to slice it thinly. It's a common ingredient used for hot pot so sometimes it's called "Hot Pot Style Pork".

• Neutral tasting oil: such as vegetable avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil or sunflower oil
• Onion: yellow onion or white onion will work. The sliced onion adds a wonderful deeper flavor and aroma to any stir-fried food.
• Green onion: or spring onions. These add a vibrant color and aroma to your stir-fry pork.
• Carrot: optional but I like adding carrots to this dish for additional fiber and nutrients. This is a common ingredient that many Korean restaurants add to their main and side dishes.
• Toasted Sesame seeds: optional but highly recommended. A common ingredient to add to many dishes within Korean cuisine.
• Regular cabbage: I recommend using regular green cabbage versus savoy, or Napa cabbage as these types can release unwanted water content into your dish. You may use red cabbage but it's not traditional.

Jeyuk bokkeum sauce

• Regular soy sauce: just your all-purpose soy sauce, not light or dark soy sauce as light soy sauce is saltier and dark soy sauce is not salty enough. Most Asian grocers, select Western grocers or online retailers, like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• Garlic: this adds an amazing garlicky flavor to this spicy food!
• Brown sugar: or substitute with honey or white sugar.
• Mirin: A sweet Japanese cooking wine. If you can’t find this ingredient, you may substitute with rice wine, rice vinegar or omit altogether and add a teaspoon of sugar for this Jeyuk Bokkeum (Korean Spicy Pork). Most Asian grocers, select Western grocers or online retailers, like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• Sesame oil: A nutty finishing oil. Most Asian grocers, select Western grocers or online retailers, like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• Gochujang: aka "Hot Pepper Paste". A Korean chili paste to create our delicious spicy sauce by giving it a sweet taste and smoky flavor. This spicy gochujang sauce is a seasoning paste that varies in level of spiciness from mild to very hot. Most Asian grocers, or online retailers, like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• Gochugaru: Another word for Korean chili pepper flakes. Aka as "red pepper powder". These flakes are crushed from red dried chili peppers and they are milder in spice versus most red chili flakes. It's commonly in many Korean dishes to make it spicy. You can also reduce the amount of chili flakes to make this dish less spicy.
• Black pepper

How to make Korean Spicy Pork

Below are brief steps with visuals to show you how to make Korean jeyuk bokkeum. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.

1. Thinly slice pork shoulder. Cooking Tip: Freeze pork ahead of time, about 30-45 minutes, and it’ll be easier to cut thinly.
2. Over low medium heat, add oil. Fry pork until 50% cooked.
3. Mix in onions and carrots. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Mix in sauce.
5. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, uncovered.
6. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Remove off heat. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

Below are tips on making jeyuk-bokkeum:

Freeze pork for 30-45 minutes to cut thinly!

When you freeze it, it’ll turn a bit hard, but it’ll be much easier to cut your pork thinly.

Buy Hot Pot Style Pork Shoulder to make it easier!

Alternatively, to make things even easier, buy hot pot style pork shoulder at the Asian market which is thinly pre-sliced for you! Just be cautious not to overcook it since it’s sliced very thinly.

FAQ

Below are frequently asked questions about this jeyuk bokkeum recipe:

What can I do with the rest of my gochugaru?

Freeze it in a zip lock bag! It will last for years! No joke!

What is Jeyuk?

It means Pork in Korean.

What is Bokkeum in Korean?

It means to stir fry.

Other recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed this jeyuk bokkeum stir fried pork, you may enjoy these other recipes:

• BULGOGI (KOREAN BBQ BEEF)
• AIR FRYER KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN
• SWEET STICKY KOREAN CHICKEN
• KOREAN BULGOGI CHICKEN WINGS
• KOREAN PORK BELLY LETTUCE WRAPS
• PORK BELLY KIMCHI FRIED RICE