Carrot

Pork Steak Bulgogi with Cucumber Kimchi

by:
September 17, 2014
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Pork Steak Bulgogi with Cucumber Kimchi
  • Serves 4-6 for dinner plus leftovers
Author Notes

I have to credit a good friend of mine for turning me onto Korean food. He introduced me to the cuisine and specifically the miracle that is gouchujang. Thanks Mike!

This recipe is a bit of spin on the standard Bulgogi, using pork shoulder as well as incorporating black bean sauce in addition to Gochujang in the marinade. At first, the long nature of the recipe makes this seem laborious but by prepping your mise en place, the actual cooking happens pretty quickly. Plus, the end result is well worth the effort.

The fixins' or banchan really make this dish. Pack up whatever is leftover and bring it for lunch the next day. I love to eat everything cold, wrapped up in lettuce leaves. —Tony S

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Pork Steak Bulgogi
  • 1/2 cup pureed pear
  • 1/2 cup pureed onion
  • 1 head of garlic peeled
  • 4 inch piece of ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup gochujang
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/4 cup light soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons black bean sauce
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • handful thin slices of carrot
  • 3 pounds pork shoulder cut into 1/4 inch thick steaks
  • canola oil
  • kosher salt to taste
  • Fixin's (Banchan)
  • 2 English cucumbers halved and sliced into half moons to 1/4 inch thick
  • 3 tablespoons gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon gochugaru, or less depending upon your heat tolerance
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons garlic, microplaned and divided into separate tablespoons
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons ginger, microplaned and divided into separate tablespoons
  • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce, divided into separate tablespoons
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
  • 1 pound sliced button mushrooms
  • 8 ounces spinach (or more)
  • 2 cups cooked sticky rice
  • 36 whole leaves from red leaf, green leaf, or bibb/butter lettuce
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • canola oil
Directions
  1. Make your Bulgogi marinade, do this 24 hours in advance. It could even be done up to 48 hours in advance.
  2. Place the first 10 Bulgogi ingredients in a blender and puree.
  3. Place your pork steaks between two sheets of parchment paper of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4 inch thickness.
  4. Place marinade, carrot slices, and pork steaks in a zip lock, press the air out and refrigerate until you plan to cook.
  5. Banchan #1- Cucumber Kimchi (you can have this fully prepared up to 3 hours before cooking pork)
  6. Toss sliced cucumbers with 1 Tbs. of kosher salt then place in a colander in sink to drain for 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
  7. In a bowl large enough to fit the cucumbers, mix the gochjang, gochugaru, rice wine vinegar, 1/2 Tbs minced garlic, 1/2 Tbs of minced ginger, 1 Tbs soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1 Tbs of sesame seeds. Add the drained and dried cucumbers and refrigerate until it is time to eat.
  8. Banchan #2- Mirin Glazed Mushrooms
  9. Heat 2 Tbs of canola oil in a heavy bottomed skillet until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms and a healthy pinch of kosher salt. Allow the mushrooms to caramelize and cook 3/4 of the way through.
  10. Add 1 Tbs of ginger, 1 Tbs of garlic, 1 Tbs soy, and mirin to mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are nicely glazed. Cover and put on back of stove until pork is ready.
  11. Banchan #3- Spinach
  12. Add 2 tsp of canola oil to a non stick skillet with the remaining 1 Tbs of garlic and 1 Tbs ginger. Saute until fragrant then add spinach and a healthy pinch of kosher salt, stir to combine and cook until almost fully wilted. Add remaining 1 Tbs soy and 1 tsp sesame oil and cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Cover, and put of back of stove until pork is ready.
  13. Your grill should be preheated to high by now (you didn't know that?)
  14. Pull pork out of marinade, wipe off excess- you don't need or want to wipe all of it off, just some. Sprinkle the pork on both sides with kosher salt and a little canola oil.
  15. Lower temperature on grill to med-high and grill pork, turning a few times to prevent burning for about 6 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. You do not want to overcook this or else it will turn tough.
  16. You are ready to eat... If necessary, warm mushrooms and spinach while pork rests.
  17. Slice pork and plate with cucumber kimchi, spinach, mushrooms, and rice. Garnish everything but the pork with another sprinkling of sesame seeds. You can throw in some traditional cabbage kimchi as well if you like! Wrap the ingredients in the lettuce leaves and enjoy.
  18. Don't forget to leave some leftovers for lunch the next day!
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