If your kids can’t handle heat, jeyuk-bokkeum is hard to put on the table.
Leave out the gochujang and it tastes flat; leave it in and you’re cooking a second batch for the children.
So the gochujang’s place is filled with soy sauce, plus a cup of pear juice.
On days you want it spicy, swap 3 of the 6 tablespoons of soy sauce for gochujang.
Everything else is identical between the two versions.

At a glance

Ingredients

  • pork shoulder, bulgogi cut, 600g
  • marinade
    • mild soy version (sugar2 + soy sauce6 + pear drink200ml)
    • spicy version (sugar2 + soy sauce3 + gochujang3 + pear drink200ml)
  • optional : vegetables (scallion, onion)

Prep

  • blot the blood off the meat (paper towel)
  • cut the meat bite-sized
  • put the marinade in the container you’ll marinate in and shake it together
  • add minced garlic1
  • meat in, then vinegar2 and a little sesame oil
  • optional : vegetables in, salt them so they wilt (square container)
  • marinate at least 30 minutes

Cooking

  • meat goes in first
  • let the bottom scorch a little, then start turning it
  • optional : vegetables last
  • add a splash of the marinade liquid
  • if you like it saucy, lid on and low heat
  • if you like it charcoal-grill style, high heat and keep stirring until the liquid is gone

Ingredients (serves 4)

Main

  • pork shoulder 600 g (1.3 lb), sliced thin — the bulgogi cut

Marinade — numbers are tablespoons (1 tbsp = 15 ml)

Mild soy version

  • sugar 2, soy sauce 6, pear juice 200 ml (scant 1 cup)

Spicy version

  • sugar 2, soy sauce 3, gochujang 3, pear juice 200 ml (scant 1 cup)

Both versions

  • minced garlic 1, vinegar 2, sesame oil 1

Korea sells a sweetened pear drink in cartons, and that’s what goes in here. Pure Asian pear juice works, or grate half an Asian pear and top up with water.

Vegetables — optional

  • scallion 1 stalk, onion ½
  • Put the marinated meat in a lidded container, lay the vegetables on top, and sprinkle a pinch or two of salt over them. They’ll keep reasonably well for a few days that way.

Prep

  • Press a paper towel onto the pork to blot off the blood.
  • Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces.
  • Put the marinade into your container first and shake it together.
  • Add minced garlic 1.
  • Add the meat, then vinegar 2 and sesame oil 1.
  • Marinate at least 30 minutes. (If your stomach is rushing you, even 5 minutes is something.)
  • (If using vegetables) Cut the scallion on a diagonal and the onion into thick strips, salt them, and refrigerate.

Cooking

  • Heat the pan on high and put the marinated meat in first.
  • Leave it alone for a minute or two, until the bottom starts to scorch.
  • Once the liquid has reduced and a piece flipped over shows some char, start stirring and frying.
  • Pour in a little of the marinade left in the container.
  • (If using vegetables) The salted vegetables go in last.
  • If you like it saucy, cover and drop to low heat.
  • If you want it dry like charcoal-grilled bulgogi, keep it on high and stir until the liquid is gone. When the liquid has cooked off and only the fat is glossy, it’s done.

Serve it with rice. It’s also good wrapped in lettuce, with a little ssamjang.

Notes

The pear juice isn’t standing in for sugar

There are already 2 tablespoons of sugar in the marinade, and still a full cup of pear juice goes in.
If sweetness were the only goal, there’d be no reason to use that much.
The pear sweetens and tenderizes the pork. It’s doing two jobs, which is why the quantity is large.
Adjust sweetness by using more or less of it.

Two tablespoons of vinegar won’t taste sour

Vinegar in a jeyuk marinade is uncommon. It’s a trick chef Ryu Su-young uses often.
Vinegar also tenderizes the meat, and it adds savoriness on top of that.
The sourness cooks off completely, so go ahead and use the full 2 tablespoons.

Shoulder, not neck

Pork neck goes a bit dry cooked this way.
The thin-sliced pork sold for bulgogi at the supermarket is mostly shoulder, and it has just enough fat running through it for this method.
No need to hunt for anything special — grab the bulgogi cut at the meat counter.

You can skip the vegetables

When I’m cooking for my three boys, who won’t touch a vegetable, I fry the meat on its own.
If you’re going the charcoal-grill route, throwing in a big handful of scallions once only the fat is left is excellent.

For another pork stir-fry, there’s Kimchi Dwaejigogi-bokkeum.