Daeji Bulgogi is the pork version of what most people think of as bulgogi, which is made with beef. We first encountered this recipe on Serious Eats, where it no longer seems to be posted, so I have linked to a new source, but it is the same recipe. My copy calls for pork tenderloin instead of pork shoulder; I’m sure it is delicious with either. There are multiple ways to cook the pork that don’t involve actual charcoal as called for in the recipe. Sometimes we drain the marinade off and cook it on a flat griddle. Other times we stir fry the marinade and the pork together in a wok. The latter does have a tendency to intensify the spice. Both cooking methods make this a simple weeknight meal if you can put together the marinade the day before. However we cook it, we serve it with steamed white rice made in our rice steamer and sliced fresh cucumber for a cooling effect.
This is a good dish for people who like spicy food to make at home. Actually spicy food can be notoriously difficult to get in restaurants. I like this recipe because it’s a little bit exotic, calling for both gochujang and mirin, but not so exotic that the ingredients can’t still be found locally in most places. All of the ingredients called for in this recipe are standard pantry ingredients at our house.
When I was in college, one of my roommates was from Japan. At the time, I didn’t appreciate what an opportunity it was for me to live with someone from another country, another culture. Now, I am grateful for the experience. One of the things she taught me was to keep fresh ginger in the freezer. Straight out of the freezer, you can grate it into your recipe; in contrast to what many food experts on television say, you don’t even need to peel it. Use a microplane and you’ll never know the difference.
April's On-line Cookbook 