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Korean Spicy Pork Belly Skillet

Name: Korean Spicy Pork Belly Skillet
Prep time: 29 min
Total time: 29 min
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: pork belly — 680 g; salt — 5 g; black pepper — 3 g; gochujang — 118 g; soy sauce — 44 g; brown sugar — 25 g; rice wine vinegar — 11 g; dark sesame oil — 14 g; garlic — 15 g; ginger — 15 g; vegetable oil — 14 g; yellow onion — 110 g; scallions — 300 g; ground toasted sesame seeds — 15 g; short-grain white rice — 532 g

Korean Spicy Pork Belly Skillet reads umami 8.6, richness 8.2 and salinity 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Korean main, about 29 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 9.4 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.4 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.8 / 10
Rich & Fat — 9.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 8.6 · Richness 8.2 · Salinity 5.1 · Sweetness 4.4 · Nutty 4.2 · Allium 3.9 · Funk & Ferment 3.0 · Heat 3.0 · Sourness 2.7 · Smoke 2.5 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Herbaceous 1.7 · Earthy 1.3 · Floral 1.1 · Bitterness 0.9

What's in it (15)

pork belly — 680 g
salt — 5 g
black pepper — 3 g
gochujang — 118 g
soy sauce — 44 g
brown sugar — 25 g
rice wine vinegar — 11 g
dark sesame oil — 14 g
garlic — 15 g
ginger — 15 g
vegetable oil — 14 g
yellow onion — 110 g
scallions — 300 g
ground toasted sesame seeds — 15 g
short-grain white rice — 532 g

Time & effort: about 29 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 330.5 kcal, 6.1 g protein, 21.3 g fat, 27.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

Pat the pork belly strips dry and season all over with the salt and pepper; let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger until smooth; set the sauce aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the pork belly in a single layer and sear undisturbed until deeply golden and crisp on the first side, 4-5 minutes.
Flip the pork and sear the second side until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 3-4 minutes; transfer the pork to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat, reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned at the edges, 4-5 minutes.
Add the scallion whites and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Return the pork belly to the skillet, pour in the gochujang sauce, and toss constantly over medium-high heat until the sauce clings to the pork and turns glossy and slightly caramelized, 3-4 minutes; the pork should reach an internal temperature of at least 145F.
Remove from the heat, scatter with the scallion greens and sesame seeds, and serve immediately over the rice.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Spicy Korean Beef and Radish Stew — Korean
Korean Sweet and Spicy Chicken Drumsticks — Korean
Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork (Nong Jia Xiao Chao Rou) — Chinese · Hunan
Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) — Korean
Korean BBQ Meatballs — Korean

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.