Korean Barbeque Pork Belly

Korean barbeque is one of my favorite dinners to go with friends because by nature it is a very communal activity. However when entertaining guests at home, many people disregard KBBQ is too difficult or even impossible. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only is making Korean BBQ at home easy and fun, it is very economical as well! This Korean Barbeque Pork Belly is one of my favorite things to make when having friends over for an at home night of Korean BBQ!

Pork belly is arguably the best part of the pig. It has an excellent meat to fat ratio, and if you are making a recipe that includes the skin like a sponder or a dim sum style pork belly, there is a nice crunch as well. For this Korean pork belly we are cutting off the skin, but do not throw it away! You can save up your skins in the freezer have a chicharron making party one day!

Korean food is one of my favorite world cuisines so I tend to make a lot of it at home. Fortunately they just opened up an Asian import store a few blocks from me so I can get all the authentic ingredients I want without waiting for a package to arrive.

What Makes Korean BBQ Special?

Korean BBQ is a unique form of barbeque in that the meat is typically cooked at the table. In Korea the servers usually hop table to table turning meat and cutting it for the guests, however in America the guests do everything themselves. This makes for a fantastic communal activity.

Aside from the quick cooking method (compared to slow cooking or smoking like in American BBQ), Korean BBQ is also known for its side dishes. These are called banchan in Korean and there seems to be an infinite amount of them. From your basic kimchi and marinated cucumbers, to things like pancakes and simmered lotus root, a standard KBBQ table will have around 20 different small plates of side dishes. Of course one of my favorite Korean side dishes is tteokbokki but I rarely get it at AYCE places since it’s quite heavy and not as valuable as meat.

How To Make Korean Barbeque Pork Belly

There are quite a few different style of KBBQ pork belly marinades, so mine is just one of the many various options you have. Of course there are a few ingredients that you absolutely cannot do without…like the pork belly for example. Here is the list of all the ingredients to make the marinade for this Korean BBQ pork belly.

Ingredients

• 1kg Pork Belly – there are a few different qualities of pork belly you can get, but I recommend finding one with the skin on and then removing it yourself. That way you can make chicharrons for a snack, and you have a thicker fat layer on the belly.
• 3 tbsp Gochujang – This is a Korean hot pepper paste made of gochugaru (chili flakes) and fermented glutinous rice plus other ingredients.
• 2 tbsp Gochugaru – those are the pepper flakes, but it is good to have them as a standalone ingredient in this recipe as well.
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Pear – grated
• 2 tsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 3 Shallots – grated
• 5 cloves Garlic – minced
• 2 tsp White Pepper
• 1 tsp MSG
• 1 tbsp Sugar – you can also use honey or a sugar syrup if you prefer
• Green Onion – for garnish
• Sesame Seeds – for garnish

This recipe is super easy to make. Basically take all the ingredients except the pork belly, and garnishes and mix them together in a bowl. I like to do this step first, before preparing the meat so all the marinade ingredients can meld together.

For this recipe I am using 1kg of pork belly with the ribs and skin. After removing the ribs and skin it is about 700 grams, but the marinade is more than enough for 1kg if you bought already prepped meat. Just use a sharp knife and cut the belly into about half centimeter slices.

Add the pork belly to the marinade and give everything a good mix. Some people would suggest that you don’t need to let the pork belly marinate and that you can go immediately to grilling it, but I highly suggest covering the bowl with plastic and placing it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

After even just a few hours the marinade has really permeated and flavored the meat beautifully. You can even let this marinate overnight if you are so inclined.

Ideally you will use a grill or grill pan when making KBBQ at home, but if you don’t have these don’t worry. A regular pan will work fine – you just might miss out on some of that smoky flavor from an open fire.

Add your Korean marinated pork belly to the pan on high heat and cook each side about 30 seconds. You’ll have to work fast, but the entire belly should only take 5 minutes or so if you have a large enough pan.

Plate your homemade Korean BBQ Pork Belly with the garnishments you want. I like to use sesame seeds and green onion, but you can use whatever you like. One thing I highly recommend is some fresh lettuce leaves. This will allow you and your guests to make little lettuce wraps which provide a nice crisp balance to the very fatty and savory meat.

I also suggest serving Korean pickles or other small sides with meat. A popular one is Korean pickled radish (called chicken-mu) which is very easy to make at home!

If you don’t plan on making 20+ banchan for your KBBQ at home night I do suggest at least buying or making kimchi and ssamjang. Ssamjang is an amazing umami packed dipping sauce commonly served at authentic KBBQ restaurants. It is very simple to make, only requiring a few ingredients, but you can also buy store-bought versions at Asian grocery stores. I also like this Korean inspired chilled spinach salad as a refreshing palate cleanser if you need a break from copious amounts of pork!

Korean Barbeque Pork Belly