Korean Spicy Pork BBQ (Jeyuk Bokkeum / Dweji Bulgogi)

Another item that turned up at our family BBQ. We bought butterhead and lettuce vege and had the meat eaten in wrap paired with garlic and seasoned seaweeds. 

It was Mum and Dad's first experience eating wraps and gave thumbs' up. Tiring prepping the food but definitely worth it when family and people who appreciates your food show you that gratifying good and yummy sign, plus a thank you so much for the food!!! It is all these that push one on to make more yummy dishes.

Korean Spicy Pork BBQ (Jeyuk Bokkeum / Dweji Bulgogi)
Recipe by Korean Bapsang

2 pounds thinly sliced pork shoulder (900g)
1 small onion thinly sliced
3 scallions cut into 2-inch pieces

Marinade:
6 tablespoons Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon Korean chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) (I left this out)

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine (or mirin)
2 tablespoons sugar (or brown sugar)

1 tablespoon corn syrup (or honey)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 small apple grated (about 4 tablespoons) – optional (I left out the grated apple)

Mix all marinade ingredients well. Combine the meat, onion, and scallions with the marinade and mix well.

Marinate for about an hour. (I left it in the freezer to do its job for 2 days, brought it down the night before BBQ to let it defrost.) Grill over charcoal or pan fry in a skillet over medium high heat until slightly caramelized. (Preheat and lightly oil with sesame oil before adding the meat. If pan frying, do not crowd the skillet. Adjust the heat as necessary.)

Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

Another item that I made for the family BBQ. I did not want the BBQ session to be laden with nothing but meat, Meat and MEAT! OMG... carnivore I am not! So made these teriyaki chicken kebabs and filled the sticks with colourful pineapple and vegetables!

Now, Im keeping this post short and sweet. Busy day at work today, gonna sit back and watch TVVvvvvvv!! :P

Teriyaki chicken recipe by Namiko Chen
(I marinated the meat using this recipe and made them into a kebab for BBQ)

• 1 lb (454 g) boneless chicken thigh with skin, rinsed and pat dry
• 
  

Teriyaki Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. sake
• 1 Tbsp. mirin
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• ¼ onion, grated, including juice
• 1" (2.5 cm) ginger, grated, including juice
• 
  

1. 1. Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Prick the chicken with a fork so it absorbs more flavor.
   
2. 2. Combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a medium bowl or Ziploc bag.
3. 3. Add the chicken into the bowl and marinate for at least 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. (I left it in the freezer for 2 days and allow it to defrost a night before the kebab preparation.

Teriyaki Chicken Kebab recipe

Marinated Teriyaki chicken cubes

Pineapple cubes

Green & Red Capsicums, cubed

Onions, cubed

Satay sticks (soaked in warm water for 30min - prevent charred parts from the BBQ process)

1. Skewer a piece of teriyaki chicken cube 3/4 down the satay stick, and the sequence follows through as such, a piece of red capsicum cube, a green capsicum cube, 2 pcs onion cubes, then repeat one more time on same satay stick. Do the same for all other sticks till you use up all ingredients and you are ready to use it for your BBQ! Otherwise, clingwrap it and place in fridge till later use.

BBQ Chicken Wings

A way overdue post here. In fact I have so many in queue to posts and am way behind time! 

Held a mini BBQ session with our family some 2 weeks back during the Jubilee weekend. Booked a BBQ pit downstairs our place and BBQed to our hearts' contents.

For the first time, I took up much of the meat marinating works as I did not want to bog Mum down since she was in the midst of recovering just about 1 month after her operation.

Chicken wings are the must-haves during BBQ sessions. I looked through food blogs and decided to give this recipe by House of Annie a try. Guess what?? Good feedbacks! My 1st time, but definitely not my last time trying out this recipe. A keeper :)

Mid joint wings BBQed to its perfection.

(Credit to my BIL who insisted he had a part to play for the yummy wings hahaha!)

Barbecued Chicken Wings

recipe adapted from House of Annie

I doubled the marinate sauce and marinated 1kg of mid joint chicken wings with it

6 large chicken wings (Annie's advice: Can use up to 10 with the same amount of marinade)
1/2 tsp Chinese wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste 

1. Combine all the ingredients and marinate the chicken wings for 6 hours, up to 3 days. I find a ziplock bag really handy for this purpose–just squeeze out all the air and massage the marinate into the chicken wings. Flip around once or twice before cooking.
2. Grill it on your barbeque until golden brown and cooked or bake at 425 F for about 20-25 min and finish with a 2-3 minute broil for added color.

Spicy Pork Bulgogi 韩式辣炒猪肉 돼지 불고기

As you can see, I am already back from Korea for quite some weeks, but am still (very!) much bitten by the Korean food bug. I have always enjoyed eating Korean food, and this trip brought my love for Korean food to a next level. I just had to cook it at home. Hubby gave compliments during the meal and commented that "I thought I am back in Korea leh!" 

My first time at preparing and cooking Korean style marinated meat. A wonderful experience and I am looking forward to cooking beef bulgogi, chicken bulgogi.... anything Korean food soon! 

With the few stuff I bought from our grocery shopping at Seoul Lotte Mart, Hubby can expect more Korean food. I have pre-empt him on that and he was game for it.

I love my wonderful and supportive hubby lor! :P

Thank you all for dropping by.

Kamsahamnida. 

Spicy Pork Bulgogi  돼지 불고기
Recipe and notes from Crazy Korean Cooking

9 oz Sliced Pork (Belly or Neck)  (thinly sliced) – I used about 250g of twee bak because I wanted leaner meat

3 tbsp Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang) (spiciness and saltiness may vary depending on the brand)

2¼ tsp Sugar

1 tsp Soy Sauce for Soup (Gukganjang)   (or regular soy sauce)

½ Onion (Medium)

1½ Green Onion (Spring onion as we call it)

1 tsp Garlic (minced)

1 tsp Ginger (minced) – I did not have ginger on hand, hence I left it out

A pinch of Black pepper

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 tbsp Cheongju, Korean Rice Wine  (I used Japanese Sake cooking wine)

½ tsp Sesame Seeds  (optional)

2 Green Chili Pepper  (optional) – I did not use this

1½ tsp Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Gochugaru, Red Chili Flakes 고추가루(optional, add to make it super spicy) – I did not use this

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions 
Pork: You can use chicken or beef instead. Make sure to thinly slice the meat for the best result.
Sesame seeds: can be omitted.
Green chili peppers: Green chili peppers add a very nice spicy kick. Red chili peppers are ok too but they are usually less spicy. You can omit chili peppers if you want a mild version.
Sugar: can be replaced with honey.

Good to Know 
The amount of gochujang (red chili paste) and sugar can vary depending on your preference. If you use less gochujang, you may want to increase the amount of soy sauce or use salt to season.

For medium spiciness, reduce the amount of red chili paste to 4 tablespoons (for default serving size - 4 servings).

To make it extra spicy, add 1 to 3 teaspoons of gochugaru (red chili flakes) (for default serving size - 4 servings)

1.        Cut pork
If the pork is not sliced, slice as thinly (⅛”) as possible. If pork is slightly frozen, it’s easier to cut into thin slices. If the slices are too big, cut into roughly 3” squares. They don’t have to be square shaped as long as the area is about that size.

2.        Prepare vegetables
Peel and slice a medium onion (or ½ large onion). Wash and cut 3 green onions into 2 inches. Mince garlic and ginger. Wash and Slice 4 green chili peppers (optional).

3.        Make marinade
Mix 6 tablespoons of gochujang (red chili paste), 1½ tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of minced ginger, chopped green onions, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, sliced onions, chopped green chili peppers (optional), 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional) and 2 tablespoons of cheongju (korean rice wine) (optional). *For medium spiciness, add 4 tablespoon of gochujang instead of 6. To make it extra spicy, add 1-3 teaspoons of gochugaru (red chili flakes) on top of gochujang (red chili paste).

4.        Marinate meat
Place the meat in a large bowl. Separate the meat slices so they are not stuck together. Add the marinade. Using your hand (use plastic gloves to protect your hand from hot paste), mix everything thoroughly and work in the marinade for 3-5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (6 hours is ideal). If your meat is thicker than ⅛”, marinate overnight.

5.        Cook meat
Coat a frying pan with vegetable oil. Cook the marinated meat on high heat for 10-15 min or until the meat is fully cooked and the surface is nicely browned. *If the meat is thick, you must cook on medium heat so the meat is cooked through. Then, cook on high heat to brown the surface.

6.        Serve
Serve on a plate and sprinkle sesame seeds to garnish (optional). You can enjoy it with a bowl of rice or make “ssam” (wrapping a piece of meat with a dab of ssamjang (lettuce wrap sauce) in leafy lettuce).

I made some ssamjang sauce by mixing 1 tsp gochujang with 2 tsp doenjang (fermented soy bean paste). 

I personally feel that spicy pork bulgogi does not go too well with ssamjang as ssamjang tends to cover the spicy bulgogi taste with its strong bean sauce smell and taste.

Ssamjang goes better with beef bulgogi wraps :)