A Korean Spicy Pork Stir Fry Recipe for the Brave
Being a cold, rainy, October Sunday, we stayed at home, wrapped up in a sweater and blanket, working on our respective projects. Aaron wanted to give Maangchi’s Spicy Stir-Fry Pork, or Dwaejigogi-bokkeum 돼지고기볶음, a try, and I’m always up for a new Korean recipe, especially one from her since the Dakgangjeong we made for my mom’s birthday was so delicious. The spicy stir-fry pork not only looked tasty, it gave me a chance to casually suggest we start a new Korean drama, which I haven’t been able to watch in four months due to our schedules.
We settled on a show called Let’s Eat, which is one part Agatha Christie murder mystery and one part romance between two foodies who are obsessed with any kind of amazing dish, from cheap takeout to the best restaurants in Korea. It seemed appropriate.
Not having time to make red pepper paste, one of the key ingredients that takes at least several months in an earthen pot to mature, we ordered some online and had it ready to go. Aaron picked up pork shoulder at the the store (we couldn’t find pork belly anywhere! What’s up with that?) and a few of the vegetables we needed. He chopped what needed to be chopped, cut what needed to be cut, and measured what needed to be measured, putting it all in a pan ready to be heated over flame for ten minutes …
Then you stir fry it over flame or heat for ten minutes, until the pork is thoroughly cooked …
At this point, it smelled great so we were so ready to dive into it. We got our lettuce and rice, which served as a wrap, and sat down to watch the drama. It looked beautiful on the plate …
Plate it, pair with rice and lettuce so you can make wraps, and sprinkle the Dwaejigogi-bokkeum with toasted sesame seeds.
This is what the Korean spicy pork stir fry looks like up close when it’s done …
Taking the first bite, we love it. It’s fantastic. We can’t wait to make it again! “Oh man, this is delicious!” we say as the subtitles appear on our new drama.
And then it happens.
Somewhere, from inside my mouth, the fires of Mordor were unleashed.
I start sputtering. I can’t breath. This sets off my diaphragm, which tries to correct itself. I’m trying to speak, simultaneously gasping in between hiccups, my eyes watering, my throat burning, my sinuses running. Desperate, I grab a nearby glass and in a matter of seconds manage to down at least 20 ounces of water before running to the nearest guest bathroom to try and find Kleenex. That was a mistake because water doesn’t cut the burn, it spreads it. Remembering that milk and / or bread can counteract the chemistry, the two of us – Aaron had stopped laughing at me by this point and his eyes gone wide as started rocking back and forth breathing through his mouth – finished off the end of a loaf of French Miche bread and drank 32 ounces of whole milk in an attempt to make the pain stop. It was like trying to stop a forest fire with a squirt bottle.
We’re not lightweights when it comes to spicy foods. On the milder end, of my favorite things in the entire world is a huge plate of nachos covered in fresh jalapenos and we routinely use multiple types of peppers in many of dishes, including the white chicken chili recipe we shared with you. I like making the dipping sauce I use for homemade Japanese Gyoza so hot it makes you want to cry. None of that prepared us for this stir fry. Maybe we managed to pick the single Serrano pepper in all of Missouri that happened to be germinated in the furthest reaches of hell. Whatever the cause, we were not equipped for Sauron and his minions to wage war on us.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later, we had eaten all we could, in tiny, slow, pain-infused bites, seduced by the juicy pork and wonderful sauce. If it wouldn’t have sent us to the hospital, we might have even tried to lick the plate.
The base recipe is wonderful. We’re making it again tomorrow because it was so good. For now, to see if we can figure out what caused the liquid fury in the dish, we’re changing the red pepper flake proportions and leaving out the Serrano to see if that makes a difference.
The crazy thing is one of the people on Maangchi’s blog says they feed this to their children and the kids love it. I’m tempted comment and say, “Hang on there, Mommy Dearest …” That or they’re raising young chain smokers who can no longer sense spice.
If you think you’re brave enough, try the recipe. It’s great. I recommend you crank up your speakers and play this song while you eat, though, because it’s probably the only way you’re going to get through it.
Reader Comments (11)
Comments are presented chronologically, with replies indented beneath the comments to which they respond.
Roundball
October 13, 2014
Yogurt is also a good way to put out the fire. My guess is the serrano peppers caused most of the heat, but they're addictive once you get used to them
alecdibble
October 13, 2014
When I make salsa, serranos are usually the pepper that can make it unbearable. They can be tough, because I have both bought very mild and very spicy serranos.
James Crooks
October 13, 2014
I made Mapo Tofu like that once (I had been marathoning Angel Beats, and they kept talking about how hot it was, and I just had to try it). I routinely stick jalapeños on everything, and once made stuffed jalapeños that were stuffed with cream cheese and habanero peppers. They were delicious. But the Mapo Tofu, man; the first sign probably should have been that just cooking it caused my eyes and nose to burn. A few bites in and the girlfriend and I were both doing the same as Aaron with the rocking back and forth and mouth breathing to try to reduce the sensation. We went through a lot of rice and milk.
It was delicious. And now I'll have to try this recipe at some point.
Corey Larson
October 13, 2014
This post just made my day. "Somewhere, from inside my mouth, the fires of Mordor were unleashed" lol. That recipe surly would have sent me to the hospital. I love spicy food, but the devil patiently waits in my stomach and releases a fury of pain when I eat it.
Kandice
October 13, 2014
I'm totally trying this. Probably minus the Serrano for the benefit of my family. Personally, if it doesn't make my nose run and clear out my sinuses, it's not hot enough. Glad to see you writing about your family dinner. 🙂
Ashly
October 15, 2014
Next time just remove the seeds and white of the serrano. That is where most of the heat is.
Rohan M.
October 19, 2014
I ate a raw Ghost Pepper once. Since that time, nothing else has ever been able to faze me.
I love Let's Eat, by the way. I found a tteokbokki recipe after watching that show, tried it, and it was DELICIOUS. Your dish looks wonderful too!
Joshua Kennon
October 19, 2014
Replying to Rohan M.
I can't even imagine a ghost pepper! We're in the final 2 or 3 episodes of the show now and Tteokbooki is on my list of things I can't wait to try.
Last night during our "Let's Eat" time we made Bibimbap (I took pictures in case I wanted to blog about it but haven't sorted them - here I was assembling the cooked ingredients in a bowl before mixture as Aaron fried the eggs) because they showed it on an earlier episode. Now, I want to try crabs in soy sauce.
Aaron and I have decided that Barassi is the truekiller. He wants to end up like Leona Helmsley's pet, living off a trust fund and has been orchestrating all of this, waiting for Lee Soo-Kyung to finally sign the insurance policy. This is why you should not name your pet after Che Guevara. It's a revolution and Soo-Kyung is the victim. (We lose it laughing every time he gets angry at her and goes to lock himself in the cage.)
Joshua Kennon
October 19, 2014
Replying to Rohan M.
Wow, I can't even imagine a ghost pepper! We're in the final 2 or 3 episodes of the show and Tteokbooki is definitely on my list of things I can't wait to try.
Last night during our "Let's Eat" time we made Bibimbap (I took pictures in case I wanted to blog about it but haven't sorted them) because they showed it on an earlier episode. Now, I want to try crabs in soy sauce.
Aaron and I have decided that Barassi is the true killer. He wants to end up like Leona Helmsley's pet, living off a trust fund and has been orchestrating all of this, waiting for Lee Soo-Kyung to finally sign the insurance policy. This is why you should not name your pet after Che Guevara. It's a revolution and Soo-Kyung is the victim. (We lose it laughing every time he gets angry at her and goes to lock himself in the cage.)
Rohan M.
October 19, 2014
Replying to Joshua Kennon
I believe your taste buds are tougher than you might think. Once I got over the initial "flames-of-hell" reaction (which only kicked in after a few minutes), I actually started to enjoy the sweet taste and that surging fire in my belly. Of course, that fire later spread to other places, and.... it wasn't as enjoyable.
I seriously want to try the crabs as well. I found Sam Hammington hilarious, and the crabs themselves looked absolutely delectable. Barassi's quite funny as well. His funniest moment for me was when Goo Dae Young once voiced him. Tell me - what did you think of the seafood noodle dish in the first episode?
Aside from that, although I don't write much, I cannot overstate how much I enjoy this blog. Aside from the fun of reading about your cooking and mental models, the investment topics have really inspired me to increase my knowledge of personal finance. Keep on keeping on - we all love it!
Engineer7006
July 28, 2015
A while back on a different post you were asking for asian recipes.
http://www.jencookskorean.com/gochujeon-stuffed-peppers-recipe/
My in-laws just made a dish like that from our korean peppers growing outside. Its always a favourite thing for me to eat at one of the local the korean BBQ.