Korean spicy pork bulgogi takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. You don’t need too much time to make a delicious meal! Wrap the spicy pork bulgogi with lettuce, perilla leaves, or seaweed to make the perfect ssam (wrap in korean). I like to serve with warm white rice and kimchi as well to make the perfect bite!
Leftovers? You Can Make A Sandwich!
If you have some leftovers the night before, you can also make a delicious spicy pork bulgogi grilled cheese.
Sandwich Ingredients:
- slice of butter
- 2 slices white bread
- 1 green onion, sliced
- shredded mozzarella cheese (as much as your heart desires)
- ½ cup spicy pork bulgogi
Directions:
- Heat up your spicy pork bulgogi leftovers in a microwave or stovetop so its hot! Set aside.
- Heat up a saucepan or sandwich maker on low-medium heat. Add butter on pan. Once butter is melted, add one slice of bread, then pork bulgogi, then shredded mozzarella cheese and finally green onions.
- Add white bread on top and gently press down. Flip the sandwich over after 2-4 minutes or until the butter side is golden and brown.
- Add slice of butter on pan and grill on the other side of bread (1-2 minutes). Once bread is golden on both sides, the sandwich is done!
Where do I get sliced pork?
I get mine at h-mart! They come thinly sliced and works great for this dish. 99 Ranch also has thinly sliced pork or you can ask if your butcher will slice it thinly for you. An alternative is to buy pork belly, shoulder, or pork butt and freeze for 2 hours. Then, get a sharp knife and slice thinly.
CHECK OUT THESE 30 MINUTES & UNDER RECIPES:
- Doenjang Jjigae (Fermented Soybean Stew) – is savory, salty and a must for seafood lovers. You can throw all the ingredients in and wait for the stew to cook!
- Korean Crab Jeon – crab is mixed with an egg omelette batter for a soft and savory bite! You can eat this as a side dish with your rice!
- Steamed Egg – soft and delicate eggs are my favorite with rice.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR KOREAN SPICY PORK BULGOGI:
The spicy pork bulgogi marinade is very simple but needs all the ingredients to be very delicious! Substitutions will not be the same 🙁
Marinade:
- thinly sliced pork (pork belly, shoulder or pork butt works!)
- cooking wine
- black pepper
- plum extract
- gochugaru (red pepper powder)
- gochujang (red pepper paste)
- honey
- soy sauce
- garlic cloves, minced
- ginger, grated
- water
- sesame oil
- onion, sliced
Saute:
- vegetable oil
- green onions
Garnish:
- 1 chili or jalapeno, sliced (optional)
- sesame seeds, to garnish
STEPS TO MAKE THE KOREAN SPICY PORK BULGOGI:
- Start by prepping the aromatics! Slice 1 onions. Cut green onions in 3 inch lengthwise and mince garlic. Grate your ginger. Set all the aromatics aside. If you bought pork without it being sliced, this is a good time to slice the pork thinly ◡̈
- Make your sauce by mixing 1.5 tablespoon cooking wine, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon plum extract, 1 tablespoon gochugaru, 1.5 tablespoon gochujang, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, minced garlic, grated ginger, 1 tablespoon water and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Mix sauce well.
- Add your sliced pork and onions in the sauce and make sure every slice is covered in sauce. If you have extra time, marinate for 15-30 minutes. If no time, proceed to step 4.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil on the pan and then add your sliced pork. When the pork is cooked and it has some crispy edges (takes 7-9 minutes ), add your sliced green onions. Mix together and turn off heat.
- Garnish with sliced chilis and sesame seeds. Eat this pork bulgogi with lettuce or perilla leaves for the perfect ssam!
Korean Spicy Pork Bulgogi
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 pound thinly sliced pork pork belly, shoulder or pork butt
- 1½ tablespoon cooking wine sake or shaoxing
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon plum extract
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru (korean red pepper powder) add 1-2 tbs more if you like more spicy
- 1½ tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 onion sliced
Saute:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 green onions chopped 3 inches lengthwise
Garnish:
- 1 chili or jalapeno (optional) sliced
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Start by prepping the aromatics! Slice 1 onions. Cut green onions in 3 inch lengthwise and mince garlic. Grate your ginger. Set all the aromatics aside. If you bought pork without it being sliced, this is a good time to slice the pork thinly ◡̈
- Make your sauce by mixing 1.5 tablespoon cooking wine, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon plum extract, 1 tablespoon gochugaru, 1.5 tablespoon gochujang, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, minced garlic, grated ginger, 1 tablespoon water and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Mix sauce well.
- Add your sliced pork and onions in the sauce and make sure every slice is covered in sauce. If you have extra time, marinate for 15-30 minutes. If no time, proceed to step 4.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil on the pan and then add your sliced pork. When the pork is cooked and it has some crispy edges (takes 7-9 minutes ), add your sliced green onions. Mix together and turn off heat.
- Garnish with sliced chilis and sesame seeds. Eat this pork bulgogi with lettuce or perilla leaves for the perfect ssam!
Video
@cookwithdana Replying to @🫡 30 minutes for the lettuce wrap of your dreams with this spicy pork bulgogi 🤤 #koreanfood #spicy #pork #30minutemeals
♬ original sound – cookwithdana
Alana says
Hi Dana! This sounds delicious, I can’t wait to try it. One question—do you do anything with the rest of marinade? I just want to double check whether you’re supposed to pour any remaining marinade in the pan while cooking the pork or whether to remove the pork from the marinade and cook it alone. (Maybe the marinade is really thick so this is dumb question, sorry!) Thank you!
Cook With Dana says
Hey Alana,
Great question! The pork should soak up all the sauce as its quite thick. I recommend adding the sauce and the pork in the pan when cooking so the pork remains juicy! You can also reference the quick cooking video if that helps.
-Dana
Alana says
Thanks so much for responding! I watched video afterward and was like oh no, I bothered her for no reason 😂
Holly says
I just made this recipe and I have to say; this is by far, the BEST Spicy Pork Bulgogi recipe on the internet and it’s better than what you get in a restaurant! I followed the recipe and measurements exactly and it was DELICIOUS.Thank you Dana for this recipe, it’s very yummy, I got love in my tummy.
Cook With Dana says
Thank you Holly for trying the recipe! So happy the pork bulgogi turned out well!!