Tag: pork
Gamjatang (Pork Neckbone Soup)
Gamjatang (Pork Neckbone Soup)
Gamjatang is my absolute favorite Korean dish. So let me tell you a long drawn out story about it…In December of 2018, I was in Koreatown in L.A. at the Decibel Magazine Beer and Metalfest with my Metal homies Brian, Kevin, and Marcos. Mike showed up the next day. We had just finished watching Armored Saint at the Whiskey and made it back to Koreatown and were super hungry. It was after midnight. We stumbled into this 24 hour Korean restaurant called Yanji Gamjatang. We all ordered our food. I remember getting blood sausages with tteokbokki. It was really good. But what Marcos was eating is what I really wanted. He got a large bowl of gamjatang. It looked absolutely amazing. I kinda obsessed over it for months.I went back to Koreatown in February 2019 for a short vacation, mostly to eat. It was after midnight again and I went directly to Yanji Gamjatang. I ordered a bowl of gamjatang. It was massive. It was spicy. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. So I had to learn to make it.Gamjatang has a lot of steps in preparation, but all are very simple. The most important step is making sure the broth is clean and free of impurities. To do this, the neck bones need to be soaked in cold water to remove any excess blood. Then the bones need to be boiled for 8 minutes then washed under cold water. This will eliminate any scum that would float to the top of the broth from the bones. After these steps, the rest of the cooking process is a piece of cake.
Ingredients
Pork Broth
- 2-3 lbs pork neck bones
- 1/2 onion
- 2 green onions
- 6 garlic cloves
- 5 slices ginger
Seasoning
- 1 tbsp gochugaru pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp gochujang paste
- 2 tsp doenjang paste
- 1 tbsp soup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Stew
- 6 oz cabbage
- 2 large potatoes cubed
- 8 perilla leaves roughly chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Soak the neck bones in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water half way through.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil the neck bones for 8 minutes. Strain. Rinse and wash each bone under cold water.
- In a large stock pot, add the neck bones, onion, green onion, garlic, and ginger slices. Add 8 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes uncovered. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 50 minutes.
- While the bones are simmering, mix together all of the seadoning ingredients. Set aside.
- In another smaller pot, bring water to a boil. Blanch the cabbage for 1 minute.
- Scoop out the cabbage and drain. Add one tbsp of the seasoning mix and set aside.
- In the same pot of water, boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside. Disregard how shitty this picture is.
- Uncover the pot of neck bones. Scoop out the onion, green onion, and ginger slices. Add in the cabbage, potatoes, and the seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in the perilla leaves and green onion. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Doenjang Marinated Pork
Doenjang Marinated Pork
Doenjang is a fermented soybean paste used in Korean cuisine. It adds a salty savory umami flavor to whatever its added to. This marinade on pork works great for Korean barbecues. Pork butt works best for this recipe. It has enough fat in the meat, allowing the pork to be moist and juicy. When sliced thin and marinated, the pork turns out very tender. You can cook the pork on a griddle or grill pan. The pork will cook very quick; 3-5 minutes in total depending on the thickness.Doenjang marinated pork is typically served in a lettuce wrap. Red or green leaf lettuce works the best. It is then accompanied by garlic chives, perilla leaves, and a small dollop of doenjang paste.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs pork shoulder sliced between 1/8”-1/4” thick
- 1 1/2 tbsp doenjang paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp onion grated
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Garnish
- green onions chopped
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Add them the sliced pork shoulder. Marinade for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil on a griddle over high heat. Add in the pork slices in a single layer. Depending on the thickness of the pork, it will take 3-5 minutes in total to cook.
- Garnish with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama is a Thai peanut curry sauce ladled over a bed of steamed rice, spinach, and either pork or chicken. For being a simple dish, it kind of has a lot of steps. The process of marinating the meat in the cornstarch, water, and oil is called ”velveting.” The meat absorbs all of the marinade, making it extra moist. It is then blanched for a minute or two. This technique is used in most Asian restaurants. It allows the chef to have large quantity of meat ready to go, cutting back on cooking time. If you’ve ever eaten at a Chinese buffet, most of the meat in various dishes is prepared this way.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork loin sliced 1/8” thick
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 lb spinach
Instructions
- Mix together the fish sauce, vegetable oil, water, and cornstarch. Add in the pork, making sure that all of the slices are evenly coated. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a pot over medium heat, mix together the coconut milk and curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a spice grinder, add the peanuts and sesame seeds.
- Coarsley grind.
- Add the peanut mixture to the curry sauce. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.
- The sauce should be fairly thick.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Drain.
- In the same pot of water, blanch the pork for 1 minute.
- Assembly time!
- Place a serving of the spinach on a plate. Top the spinach with the pork. Ladle over the peanut curry sauce. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
