Spicy pork bulgogi is the signature pork BBQ in Korea. Thin slices of pork are coated with an addictive spicy gochujang sauce and served over a bed of hot sticky rice.
The secret to a good pork bulgogi is the marinade itself. Some restaurants add too much sugar to the meat - no good! Others put too much Korean red chili flakes, turning the meat too spicy! With this marinade recipe, you will find a nice balance of flavor and spice. Also, don't forget to add a handful of scallions (green onions). It refreshes your palate after each bite of the spicy bbq.
The gochujang (Korean red chili paste) does a great job in binding all of the marinade ingredients together. As such, there is no need to marinade this meat overnight. You can grill right away. When you are hungry, time is your enemy!

Spicy Pork Bulgogi with Kimchi
Ingredients
- Pork - 400 grams thinly sliced pork butt or pork shoulder
- Kimchi - few pieces optional
- Onion - 1
- Spring onion - 2 Tablespoon
Spicy Marinade
- Gochujang Korean red chili pepper paste - 4 Tablespoon
- Gochugaru Korean red chili flakes - 1 Tablespoon
- Honey - 2 Tablespoon
- Soy sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Mirin - 1 Tablespoon
- Sugar - ½ Tablespoon
- Salt - few shakes
- Black pepper - few shakes
- Sesame seeds - garnish
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Chop the onion in half. Then cut the onion into thin pieces. Also cut the spring onion into small pieces.
- Cut pork into bite-sized pieces.
- Take out a few pieces of Kimchi and set aside for pan-frying.
Make Marinade
- Take out a large mixing bowl and put in the pork pieces.
- Mix in all of the listed ingredients for the marinade.
- Use your hands (and plastic gloves) to coat the meat thoroughly.
Grill Meat
- Take out a frying pan and put on a medium heat. If you have kimchi - cook that first. Once-pan is hot, drop in some sesame oil and cook the kimchi until it gets some browning on the tips.
- Then put vegetable oil in the the pan. Place in the pork pieces. Cook the pork until it is 90% cooked.
- Then put in the onions. Once you see that the meat is fully cook (light sear on the meat) - turn off the heat.
- Add the green onions in. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with a bowl of hot rice!
Notes
- Cook the meat on a medium heat. When cooking the meat, use a chopstick or a wooden utensil and move around the pork pieces frequently. This will help avoid burning the marinade.
- Watch video below for more details
Sandrine says
Just made this for dinner. Oh my, you and Katie are allllll that, and you can cook!❤️
Sandrine Clarke says
Love this!
JLim Lee says
Hi Dan, I made this dish today n turn out super yummy! Everything as per recipe but I omitted Gochugaru as there are 2 kids, 9 n 10. Will do this again with 1 tsp Gochugaru for them. U've got 4 thumbs up from them!! Wish I could share some pics with u. Love u guys
hhickl says
Ohhh heavenly taste! So perfect! Thank you Dan Yul x
Anita C. says
So bomb. I make this at least once a week for the fam and the non-spicy version for my little one. I serve it up with rice and lettuce to wrap it, and it's gone in a flash. Thank you for this recipe !