This spicy pork belly recipe is quick, easy, and packed with bold flavor. Whether you’re grilling, cooking on the stovetop, or in the oven, these pork belly slices come out crispy and tender, with a little kick of heat. Perfect for lettuce wraps, rice bowls, or Korean BBQ-style meals!
This recipe is incredibly flexible and forgiving—you can cook it on the stovetop, grill, or in the oven, and adjust the heat level to your liking by adding more gochugaru. Prep it the night before and dinner can be on the table in under 20 minutes. Whether you’re serving it over rice, wrapping it in lettuce, or adding it to your KBBQ-style meal, this dish is easy, spicy, and seriously addictive.
My favorite way of serving this spicy pork belly is with some lettuce, kimchi, ssamjang, and fresh garlic slices. So delicious!
Directions
Place the pork belly strips into a mixing bowl to marinate.
In a blender or food processor, add in 1/2 a roughly chopped large onion, 6 garlic cloves, 1 roughly chopped thumb-sized piece of ginger, 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp honey.
Blend until smooth. Give the marinade a taste and adjust as needed.
Pour the marinade over the pork belly and mix thoroughly. Suggest using your hand to get the marinade as evenly distributed as possible. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but ideally overnight.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but ideally overnight.
After marinating overnight, it should look like this.
Once ready to cook, heat a large nonstick or heavy skillet over medium heat. Wipe off all the excess marinade from each slide of pork belly and pan fry the pork belly for 4-5 minutes on each side.
You’ll want darkened sections that are deep brown for that caramelized flavor, but be careful to not let it burn!
If frying in batches, you’ll need to turn off the heat between each batch and use a paper towel to soak up the excess oil and burned marinade bits so the residue doesn’t keep burning.
Cut into 1 inch pieces and garnish with sesame seeds.
Serve with rice, lettuce wraps, or eat it by itself!
Spicy Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless pork belly thick-sliced strips
- 1/2 large onion roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 thumb-size piece of ginger roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp gochugaru more to taste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Place the pork belly strips into a mixing bowl to marinate.
- In a blender or food processor, add in 1/2 a roughly chopped large onion, 6 garlic cloves, 1 roughly chopped thumb-sized piece of ginger, 2 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp honey. Blend until smooth. Give the marinade a taste and adjust as needed.
- Pour the marinade over the pork belly and mix thoroughly. Suggest using your hand to get the marinade as evenly distributed as possible. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but ideally overnight.
- Once ready to cook, heat a large nonstick or heavy skillet over medium heat. Wipe off all the excess marinade from each slide of pork belly and pan fry the pork belly for 4-5 minutes on each side.
- If frying in batches, you'll need to turn off the heat between each batch and use a paper towel to soak up the excess oil and burned marinade bits so the residue doesn't keep burning.
- Cut into 1 inch pieces and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with rice, lettuce wraps, or eat it by itself!