Suyuk – Korean Pork Belly Slices.
Suyuk is pork belly that is boiled, then thinly sliced…. I’ll stop there. As I’m writing this, the description of boiled meat is already off-putting.
But hang on, let me show you a picture!
Heh yes – it’s as delicious at it looks.
Suyuk translates to “water meat” in Korean. Su comes from the Hanja (Chinese) character for water. And Yuk means meat.
Suyuk is most frequently made with pork (as beef is rather expensive in Korea).
Most restaurants prefer to serve it with fresh Kimchi! The combination of kimchi and Suyuk make for an incredible combo.
Today, let me show you how to make it from home with a very simple recipe.
In our recipe, we will not boil the meat in water. Instead, let’s boil it in a tastier way.
We’ll lay down fresh onions at the bottom of the pot. The heat will sweat the onions and create a mini layer of broth. The meat with then “boil” in this onion broth, along with the other aromatics
Makes for an incredible taste that’ll beat any restaurant taste!
Cooking notes:
Use pork belly. If you go to a Korean mart, ask them for Suyuk-yong Tong-Samgyeopsal (수육용 통삼겹살). It’s pork belly cuts that are trimmed long and thick.
Many viewers have also mentioned that they sell these slabs of pork belly at Costco. You can simply cut the larger slab into thick, long pieces.
To remove that “porky” or gamey smell in big pieces of meat, slather them with Korean Doenjang (fermented soybean paste).
As an alternative, you can also use Japanese miso paste (But note: miso paste is much lighter in color, so the outside of the meat will not have a dark finish).
When boiling the meat, place a wet kitchen towel over the steam hole in your lid. This will trap the moisture and prevent the pot from drying out or burning.
Cook on a low heat. And resist the urge to open the lid – as the temperature will drop and you’ll have to cook for longer.
When slicing, cut the meat pieces thin – it tastes more delicious this way.
We also highly recommend making Fresh Kimchi (our recipe is amazing!). It has a bold, strong taste that pairs well with unseasoned meat.
If you don’t have Kimchi, you can also season the meat with sea salt and black pepper – and eat with a small salad on the side (toss the salad with oriental dressing or sesame dressing)
Finally, serve it with a bowl of hot rice for a nice meal!
Enjoy Neighbors! And if you make this, tag us on IG (We love seeing pictures of your dishes!)
Ingredients
- 1 kg (~2lbs) Pork Belly
- 2-3 Tablespoons Doenjang (Miso Paste works too)
- 2 Whole Onion
- 1 Whole Apple
- 4 Bay Leaves
- 10 Garlic Cloves
Instructions
Prep Pork Belly & Veggies
- Wash pork belly pieces. Then grab a small piece of doenjang and slather it over the pork belly pieces. Set the meat aside and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, peel 2 Onions. Roughly cut them into smaller pieces.
- Slice 1 whole apple into thin slices. Make them thin.
- Trim the ends off 10 garlic cloves. Set aside.
Cook Pork Belly
- After 30 minutes of marinating, the meat is ready. Take out a large pot or wok. Lay all of the onion slices on the bottom of the pot. Then place the pork belly pieces on top of the onion.
- Then add the garlic cloves on top of the meat. Followed by the 4 Bay Leaves. Then add the apple slices on top.
Cook the meat
- Place a properly-fitting lid on your pot or wok. Wet a kitchen towel and squeeze out extra water. Then place the moist towel over the steam hole in the lid.
- Place the pot on a low heat. Then set a timer for 1 hour - don't open the lid for 1 hour!
- After 1 hour, carefully take out the pork belly slices.
- Let the delicious meat pieces rest for 5-10 minutes. Then slice them as thin as you can. Serve with some fresh kimchi on the side.
- Serve with a bowl of hot rice for a full meal! Bon Appetit!
Enjoying these recipes? Drop some love 🙃
Chloe from 싱가포르 says
안녕하세요! 수육이 진짜 맛있어요! 감사합니다! I ate it with rice and some homemade banchan.
I saved all the liquid from the steaming - the liquid relased by the pork (I used shoulder) into the steaming dish together with the apples, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and doenjang.
I used it as a base for tomato soup a few days later, using fresh cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, chicken stock and tomato paste. I thickened the soup with leftover mashed potato (prepared only with some butter, olive oil, salt, and black pepper). It was really good! So if you don't want to throw out that liquid, this is something you can consider use it for 🙂
Aleks says
HI, thank for for recommendation about apples-onions and broth, I also was thinking to use it as a base for a soup. Delicious!
Thelma says
What do you do with the apple, garlic and onion afterwards? It tastes yummy I was thinking of smashing it to make a paste or do you just have them on the side? Thanks!
Lisa Skyers says
This was delicious and so easy to make.
Lea Catura says
My family love Korea food, and I love your recipes. So simple to cook and yummy But my youngest son is not allowed to eat food with soy products . What can you suggest as substitute for it (soy and Deonjang)?
E. Murray says
there are chickpea miso pastes available for people with soy sensitivities.
Ermin says
Kathy was right! This is one of my favourite "bossam" recipe. Effortless and yet so yummy and juicy. We pan fried the leftover pieces, and they taste even better. And I purposely made fresh kimchi (of course from your recipe, too) which went well together with the pork. Wrap them with lettuce and perilla leaves, and you have a great meal ^o^
Even my Korean husband said it was delicious.
Happy tummy, happy me ^o^! Thanks for the great recipe, Danyulll ^o^
Ellie says
Tried the recipe but used my pressure cooker instead. The meat turned out really tasty and tender. Am going to add this to my list of Korean dishes!! Thanks.
Olivia says
Can’t wait to try!
Is it possible to cook that in the oven instead of on the stove top?
Shamae says
I recently googled the recipe for suyuk after watching Lee Gook Ju prepare this dish in an episode of I Live Alone and came across this site. The ingredients are very basic and the recipe is so easy to follow so I tried cooking it the following day. Since I live in a dormitory, I only have few kitchen tools so I used my rice cooker to make this dish. Omg! It was a success. It tasted so good and the meat was so tender. It goes very well with kimchi. The meat actually taste like the ham we buy during Christmas here in the Philippines. Thank you very much. I will definitely try your other recipes
Renee says
I made this tonight in a dutch oven on the stove and it turned out great. So tender and delicious!
Jessy says
I made this and it was lovely!
I marinated it with miso added some ginger and a dash of mirin and it was heavenly <3 Initially I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough moisture but if no steam escapes from the pan there's nothing to worry about.
I definitely recommend others to make it. It almost takes no effort and the end product is more than worth it. I ate it with freshly made kimchi and rice. Delicious 10/10
Dan-yul says
Oh so happy, you enjoyed it Jessy! Yes, when we were first experimenting with it, we were unsure whether it would burn... but the onions do a terrific job of delivering broth 😉
Doreen says
Loooove the haircut! Bringing out your hidden african genes! I've been craving some 삼겹살. But it's so expensive at the Korean stores. Gotta try This recipe soon as I find some affordable.
Dan-yul says
Haha thanks Doreen! I forgot how refreshing short hair is - gotta stick with this hairdoo for a while 😉