An authentic simple Korean marinade is the star of this spicy, sticky Korean pork stir fry that will leave you wanting more long after you licked your bowl clean! This requires just 30 minutes marinating time – which can be skipped if you’re in a hurry!
Korean Pork Stir Fry
If you like BIG flavours – and I mean BIG, HUGE flavours, then this stir fry is for you. The flavours are much more intense than usual stir fries – it’s spicier, stickier and stronger. The jammy sauce is the type that will have you smacking your lips and licking your fingers, wanting to marinade everything in this.
And actually, you could. For those who have sampled Korean Fried Chicken (the “other” KFC), the flavour of the sauce will be familiar because the sticky coating for KFC has similar ingredients to this marinade.
A technique that is not used widely but is fantastic for getting incredible flavour into marinades and sauces is grated onions and pears / apples. I first learnt about this technique from my Korean hairdresser who dictates recipes to me while she does my roots!!!
The reason that grating is such a fantastic technique is that juice is created which forms part of the marinade. Fruit juices simply don’t compare – far less flavour, even when they’re cold pressed fresh juice. And as for grated onions – to my knowledge, you can’t buy that!!!
I made this with pork shoulder (boneless) which is a really great value cut of meat because it is typically considered to be a tougher cut suited to slow cooking. But actually, if you slice it thinly against the grain, it is wonderful to use for quick cooking purposes like in a stir fry.
The one ingredient in this recipe that you might not be able to find easily is Gochujang which is a Korean spice paste. It comes in a bright red tub and the paste is a deep red colour. It’s spicy, savoury with a touch of sweet, and it’s a secret weapon in Korean cooking because it’s go so many layers of flavour. It is used in a lot of Korean dishes, like Bibimbap, Kimchi Fried Rice and even the dipping sauce for the Momofuku Bossam (slow cooked pork).
It can be purchased at Korean grocery stores and most Asian grocery stores for a few dollars. But don’t worry if you can’t find it, I have provided a substitute that yields a very similar result – my taste testers actually couldn’t tell the difference!
Gochujang aside, this is a seriously quick midweek meal. I think you’ll be quite surprised at how short the ingredient list is – thanks to Gochujang which provides much of the flavour base – and just 30 minutes of marinating time.
In fact, I’ve made this without marinating and it still worked out great because the flavour of the glaze is so strong.
I served this with plain white rice and lightly pickled vegetables (I popped the recipe in the notes below). Typically I would have served this with kimchi which is the spicy Korean pickled cabbage that is served with practically every dish for every meal in Korea, but I didn’t have any on hand.
This is a MUST TRY for anyone who loves food with big bold flavours!!! The sticky/sweet/spicy/savory flavours remind me of Mongolian Beef. It is quite spicy, but not “blow your head off” spicy.
Ugh. Writing this up just reminds me how lip smackingly delicious this is and now I’m craving it!!! I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. Using chicken. YUM! – Nagi x
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Spicy Korean Pork Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb / 500g boneless pork shoulder (excess fat trimmed) (Note 1)
Marinade
- 1 small pear , grated (1/2 cup) (or nashi pear OR apple) (Note 2)
- 1/2 medium onion , grated (1/4 cup) (brown, white or yellow)
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger , minced or finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (all purpose or light soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean Hot Pepper Paste) OR see Note 3 for substitution
Stir Fry
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic , minced
- 1 onion , halved and sliced (brown, white or yellow)
To Serve
- 1 scallion/shallot stalk , sliced
- Sesame seeds
- Rice
Instructions
- Cut pork into thin slices. If using pork shoulder, as I did, halve it lengthwise to form two long pieces, then slice the pieces. See photo below.
- Combine Marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add pork. Marinate for 30 minutes, or overnight.
- To cook, heat oil in a large non stick skillet (Note 4) over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes until translucent. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes or until dark golden and caramelised, and just cooked through.
- Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! Garnish with sliced shallots and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
The Spicy Side of Life: Korean recipes
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LIFE OF DOZER
He secretly loves his robe. I know it. That’s a glimmer of contentment in his eyes. Not embarrassment / resentment / shame.
I’m not sure it was carmelized as you would make it …but it was darn delicious. My family of 5 (on this occaision) all voted 5 stars. Of course it’s on our “make again” list. Thanks again Nagi!
I cannot tell you how many times I have made this but it is always delicious. I love it. Somewhat spicy but addictively so. Pickles help to calm it down.
OMG just done this, A M A Z I N
This recipe is yum yum yum yum, we also serve it with crushed peanuts and chilli, add lots of veggies to the stir-fry, and use noodles instead of rice, but it is great – we use it all the time!
Love this recipe. Marinate before I go to work then serve with crispy noodle and cabbage salad that evening. There is plenty of saltiness in the gochujang, so we spiced it up with Korean chilli flakes. We add a teaspoon of bicarb if we do it with beef or chicken breast just to help tenderise.
Hi,
Can we grind the Pear along with the Ginger and Garlic. instead of grating it?
I was just in our local Sainsburys and on their reduced shelf (sell by date ran out today) They had 10 pork shoulder steaks and 6 pears plus a bunch on spring onions. I bought them and then looked on your website for something to make. This was so nice I will be making it again even if the ingrediants are full price not reduced by 75%!
Really quick, easy and (most importantly) delicious. I made this with pork neck and it came out succulent and caramelised. This has already become a weeknight favourite, together with steamed rice and Korean cucumber salad (various, from other websites, easy to find and make).
Loved this and expect to make it again and again. The pickles were a little harsh for me but extra sugar next time and should be perfect for me.
Delicious! Taste even better than the authentic Korean place I go to. The pear is key. Love the quick marinate time also. Amazed at how well it came out considering that I am a terrible cook. Am excited to try more of your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing!
Turned out really yummy! Even though I doubled it, crowded the pan, and had to simmer to reduce the sauce 🙂 even my 2 year old loved it (he couldn’t finish it due to the heat but he was still enjoying it!)
I went to my Asian grocery to buy the gochujang paste but wasn’t sure about pronunciation so I showed them your picture. I asked them how to say it correctly and they told me “chilli paste”!!!! It was hilarious!!
Bwa ha ha ha!!!! BEST COMMENT OF THE DAY! N x 😂
Really good! I put it in my book of ‘keeper’ recipes.
So simple, I just put all the marinade ingredients in a mini processor. Made it with pork leg and it worked well but will try it with other cuts too. Going to try apple next time to compare! Thanks very much for the recipe.
Ps I didn’t have gochujang so used your substitute recipe
Hi __ great recipe – easy family loved it…
Excellent! Excellent! Can’t say enough about how delicious this recipe is. So easy. Thank you for helping me to up my stir fry game.
Thank you Nagi for yet another great recipe. This is simple and delicious. I halved the recipe and made it with two pork neck “steaks” (scotch fillet). It worked very well. I served it with steamed (microwaved) bok choy with (your recipe) for oyster sauce and fresh rice noodles. I love the amount of detail and also tips that you give with every recipe.
Thank you yet again for an amazing and different meal that I would have not tried to cook.and it was amazing – I steamed broccoli and green peas in oyster sauce with steamed rice fabulous
Thank you yet again for an amazing and different meal that I would have tried to cook.and it was amazing
can you use this as a marinade for pork chops
Yes definitely Donna! N x
I’ve had this korean spicy pork at the local restaurant here many many times and wondered how to replicate it.
Thanks to you, I happened across your recipe, followed it using the gochujang sauce and grated apple. A great success! My only complaint was it was not spicy enough. Either the grated apple has toned down the spiciness or I might just add more of the sauce. Will it taste the same without the apple? Will definitely try again. Thanks so much.
It turned out quite watery but pork was tender and flavourful. Did you have to squeeze out juice from grated pear/apple? Not sure how to cameralize it with so much liquid. We enjoyed it though! Thank you for the recipe. Hope you can make a video of it soon so I can try it once more!