This Man's Cook's Thick Pork Belly with Soybean Sprouts | 모두의 레시피
This Man's Cook's Thick Pork Belly with Soybean Sprouts
A Japanese izakaya-style stir-fry that uses the rich, savory fat from thick pork belly to sauté garlic and vegetables, quickly preserving the crisp texture of soybean sprouts over high heat.
🙋 Recommended for
⭐ Those looking for a sophisticated yet light izakaya-style appetizer to enjoy with cold beer or soju after work
⭐ Fans of the satisfying crunch of soybean sprouts paired with the rich, tender taste of thin, fatty pork belly
⭐ Home cooks who want to create a bold, smoky meat dish with simple steps in under 15 minutes
Wash the soybean sprouts thoroughly, drain completely on a colander, and cut the thick pork belly into bite-sized pieces about 4cm square.
Slice half an onion and 50g of cabbage thickly, slice green and red chili peppers diagonally, mince garlic into thin slices, and finely chop scallions.
Grate or thinly slice one piece of ginger and soak it in a small amount of soju or clear rice wine for 10 minutes to make a ginger-soju marinade to remove meaty odors.
In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons fermented soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon cooking wine, mixing well to prepare the seasoning sauce.
Heat a deep pan or wok over high heat without adding oil, then add the cut thick pork belly and stir-fry until its fat begins to render out.
Once the pork surface starts to brown and sufficient fat has been released, add the sliced garlic and stir-fry together. When the garlic aroma rises, pour in 1 tablespoon of the prepared ginger-soju marinade to eliminate any off-flavors.
When the pork is nicely browned and fully cooked, add all the pre-sliced onions, cabbage, green chili peppers, and red chili peppers, gently tossing and stir-frying briefly.
Before the vegetables lose their freshness, pour the prepared seasoning sauce around the edge of the wok, then quickly stir-fry to evenly distribute the sauce across all ingredients.
Once the sauce is well blended, add the drained soybean sprouts and quickly toss everything together, stir-frying just until the sprouts barely lose their crispness, then immediately turn off the heat.
With the stove still off, sprinkle 2~3 pinches of black pepper and lightly mix using residual heat. Transfer to a serving plate, top with chopped scallions and katsuobushi as garnish.
Prepare soybean sprouts and vegetables, and make the ginger-soju marinade and oyster sauce seasoning in advance.
Stir-fry thick pork belly in a hot wok until fat renders, then add garlic and ginger-soju marinade for enhanced flavor.
Add vegetables and seasoning sauce, stir-fry quickly, then toss in soybean sprouts and finish with black pepper and garnishes.
Cooking tips 💡
Using minced garlic can cause burning when stir-frying meat over high heat, resulting in bitterness throughout the dish—always use thinly sliced garlic for a clean result.
Adding seasonings one by one during cooking prolongs the process and causes vegetables to overcook—always mix the sauce in advance and add it all at once for efficiency.
This dish must be cooked over consistently high heat from start to finish to prevent moisture from vegetables making the dish soggy and to maintain crisp texture.
Soybean sprouts wilt quickly if overcooked; the key is turning off the heat just before they lose their crispness and finishing them with residual heat.