The pork in a kimchi stir-fry is usually sliced paper-thin or diced small.
This one uses pork neck cut for the grill, in finger-thick cubes. The idea is to eat the meat as meat.
The kimchi gets the same treatment — half a head of sour kimchi, ribs only.
Crisp kimchi and thick pork: the whole dish is built on two kinds of chew.

At a glance

Ingredients

  • pork neck 600g (thick, the grilling cut)
  • sour kimchi, enough
  • marinade for the pork (cooking wine4, minced garlic1, pepper to taste)
  • sauce (soy sauce2, garlic1, oyster sauce1, gochujang1, gochugaru1, sugar0.5, corn syrup2)
  • optional : vegetables (onion, scallion, toasted sesame)

Prep

  • cube the pork neck and marinate 30 minutes
  • optional: chop the vegetables small
  • shake the filling out from between the kimchi leaves

Cooking

  • sear the pork neck on high
  • when the pork turns brown, add the kimchi and fry
  • once the kimchi softens a bit, push everything into a ring
  • sauce into the middle, and when it bubbles up, fold it all together
  • optional : vegetables in, finish with toasted sesame

Ingredients (serves 4)

Main

  • pork neck 600 g (1.3 lb) — thick-cut, the kind sold for grilling. Boston butt is the closest US cut.
  • sour kimchi ½ head, ribs only

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

  • cooking wine 4, minced garlic 1
  • pepper — five twists of the grinder

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

  • soy sauce 2, garlic 1, oyster sauce 1, gochujang 1, gochugaru 1, sugar 0.5, mulyeot 2
  • Mulyeot is Korean corn syrup. Substitute light corn syrup, or honey at ¾ the amount.
  • Gochujang and gochugaru are at H Mart or online.

Vegetables — optional

  • onion ¼
  • scallion 2 stalks, green parts only
  • a little toasted sesame

If your kimchi isn’t sour yet, leave the jar on the counter for a day or two. Fresh kimchi tastes thin here.

Prep

  • Cut the pork neck into finger-thick, bite-sized cubes.
  • Marinate 30 minutes.
  • Take only the rib sections of the sour kimchi and shake off the filling caught between the leaves.
  • (If using vegetables) Chop the onion and scallion small.

Cooking

  • Heat the pan on high and sear the marinated pork neck.
  • After about 5 minutes, once the outside has browned, add the sour kimchi and fry. Keep the heat on high.
  • When the kimchi has softened a little, push everything to the edges so the middle is empty, like a doughnut.
  • Pour the sauce into the empty middle.
  • When the sauce bubbles up, fold everything together and fry on medium for 2–3 minutes.
  • (If using vegetables) Add them at the very end and finish with toasted sesame.

Notes

Shake the filling out of the kimchi

If you leave the filling packed between the kimchi leaves, it comes loose while frying and the dish turns muddy.
So use the rib sections only, and shake off whatever’s caught between them before it goes in the pan.

Boil the sauce in the middle of the pan

Once the kimchi has softened, push everything to the edges, clear the center, and pour the sauce into that space.
You get to boil the sauce on its own without pulling anything out of the pan, before it mixes with the meat.
Dumping it straight in isn’t bad, but boiling it first tastes noticeably better.
After it bubbles up, fold it all together and fry 2–3 minutes. That’s it.

Neck here, not shoulder

Jeyuk-bokkeum uses thin-sliced shoulder; this dish uses neck.
Shoulder has enough fat in it that the kids push it away. Neck is mostly lean, which suits them better.
Neck also stays tender longer than other cuts when it’s overcooked a little — which fits a recipe that cuts it thick.

The 30-minute marinade is about smell, not tenderness

The cooking wine isn’t there to soften the meat. It’s there to take the porky smell off.
So if you’re in a hurry, or the pork is very fresh, 5 minutes will do.
There’s no reason to sit and wait out the full 30.

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