My North Korean Grandmother’s Braised Pork Belly

Difficulty Easy

Soft, jiggly pork belly. Decadent, luscious sauce. My North Korean Grandmother’s Braised Pork Belly recipe is so good, you’ll be scraping the bowl clean.

In the summer of 1947, my grandparents paid someone to smuggle them out of North Korea.

For two weeks, my newly married grandparents traveled across rivers and mountains. They walked at night and slept during the day. They defecated in holes dug with sticks and covered up their tracks so that no one could follow them. They went up and down so many mountains (Korea is called the land of 1000 mountains) that my 18 year old Halmoni thought she was going to die.

Many years later, she immigrated to America with their husband and sons. This easy braised pork belly dish was one of the recipes she brought with her!

What is Korean Braised Pork Belly?

Rich and stewy, Korean Braised Pork Belly is my North Korean Grandmother’s recipe. We called it Doenjang Dwaeji Gogi or Soybean Paste Pork.

Thick, meaty chunks of pork belly are braised until soft, tender, jiggly, and luscious. A generous scoop of doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste) creates a savory, pungent sauce that clings and coats the meat.

Out of all the family dishes my Korean grandmother cooks — this one is especially treasured. I will be cooking this for my own grandkids one day!

Ingredients:

  • Doenjang. Korean fermented soybean paste. Use the best you can find.
  • Pork Belly. Look for nicely marbled pieces that contain an equal amount of fat and meat. It doesn’t matter if the pork belly is skinned or not — the long braising time will break it down regardless.
  • Ginger. The classic aromatic that pairs well with pork.
  • Instant Coffee. Optional ingredient but a classic Korean way to remove the gamey smell of meat. Leave out if you don’t have it.
  • Mirin. Sweet Korean cooking wine.
  • Soy Sauce. For more flavor and depth.
  • Jalapeno. When stewed, adds richness and depth of flavor. Results in a subtly spicy dish.

Instructions:

  1. Slice pork belly into 1/2-inch strips and place in a large pot. Add remaining ingredients and water.
  2. Cover and cook until pork belly is soft and tender, about 30 minutes. The sauce will be watery.
  3. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thick and reduced, about 10-15 minutes. The pork belly and sauce should darken.
  4. Serve with lettuce wraps, rice, gochujang sauce, and kimchi. Enjoy!

How do I serve Korean Braised Pork Belly?

To cut the rich fattiness of the dish, serve with lettuce wraps and Gochujang Sauce on the side. Also, kimchi!

Also, make sure to include plenty of rice. The saucy richness of this dish begs to be spooned over rice!

For a party, add other side dishes (banchan) to make it feel like a feast:

FAQ:

What is Doenjang?

Doenjang is Korean fermented soybean paste. Like all other fermented foods, it’s strongly flavored and absolutely delicious. Doenjang is also probiotic and packed with good-for-your-gut nutrition.

Doenjang is similar to Miso paste in that they are both fermented soybean pastes. However, Miso is fermented with Koji, a sweet rice starter that results in a milder, sweeter flavor. Doenjang is fermented with only salt, creating a deeply rich and potent flavor base!

Can this dish be made ahead of time?

Yes, you can Korean Braised Pork Belly up to 2-3 days in advance. It keeps very well in the fridge. Make sure to reheat gently so the sauce doesn’t burn.

Other Pork Belly Dishes to enjoy:

This easy pork belly recipe fits neatly into the family of melt-in-your-mouth Asian Braised Pork Belly dishes. Vietnamese Thit Kho. Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan. Chinese Hong Shao Ru. Japanese Kakune.

small shallow dish with korean braised pork belly and side dishes all around

My North Korean Grandmother’s Braised Pork Belly

The Subversive Table | Lis Lam
Soft, jiggly pork belly. Decadent, luscious sauce. My North Korean Grandmother's Braised Pork Belly is so good, you'll be scraping the bowl clean.
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Korean
Servings 6
Calories

Equipment

  • Stock pot

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs pork belly
  • 1/2 cup Doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
  • 2 Tbsp Mirin
  • 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 inch ginger, minced
  • 1 Tbsp instant coffee (optional)
  • 1-2 Jalapenos, sliced *see notes below
  • 2 cups water

Instructions
 

  • Slice pork belly into 1/2-inch strips and place into a large pot. Add remaining ingredients.
    pot of ingredients for korean braised doenjang pork belly
  • Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer (covered) until pork belly is tender and soft, about 30 minutes. The sauce will be watery.
    pot of korean braised pork belly
  • Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thick and reduced, about 10-15 minutes. The pork belly and sauce should darken.
    pot of korean braised pork belly
  • Serve with lettuce wraps, rice, gochujang sauce, and kimchi. Enjoy!
    small shallow dish with korean braised pork belly and side dishes all around

Notes

*I suggest 1-2 jalapenos because not all jalapenos are equally spicy.  Some are very spicy, some are mild.  I usually taste a little bit of the jalapeno.  If it’s spicy, I use 1 jalapeno.  If it’s mild, I use 2.  Also, I make sure to include all the seeds.  
Keyword Braised, Korean, Pork Belly
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All Recipes, Braised, Korean, Main, Pork

16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Tasty creamy Korean tube steak sausage link soup#1

  2. 5 stars
    Made this and really enjoyed it! One problem I had was that a lot of oil was left after simmering uncovered. Should I add more water to fix that or just simmer for less time? It could be that the pork belly cut I was using was just too fatty as well though

  3. Hi,

    Incredible story and this sounds delicious! If I was going to make for 8 people, how many pounds of pork belly do suggest ?

    Also, for that amount of pork, what is the total time to braise? Thanks!!

    • For 8 people, you could try 4 lbs and keep all the rest of the ingredients the same. It’s very forgiving. If the taste is not strong enough at the end, add another small scoop of Doenjang and cook for 5 minutes more. Enjoy!!

  4. 5 stars
    Was looking for a Korean pork belly recipe to make for dinner with some kimchi and I can’t wait to cook this tonight!!

  5. 5 stars
    So sorry! One more question, do you use pork belly with skin on or off?

  6. 5 stars
    So awesome! I’m making this ASAP! Looks super mashita! How much ginger do you use? And when you say ground ginger do you mean freshly grated like on a microplane or dried ground like a powder? Thank you!!

  7. 5 stars
    Just made this, Such an amazing taste from simple ingredients. My family loved it.

  8. 5 stars
    Great story, recently we have a big Asian supermarket in our neighborhood, so I was searching for some Korean recipes and came across your site. I will try this recipe, love pork belly. (As a matter of fact, I will going to try dozens of your recipes) (-:

  9. Wow what an incredible story! Yum I need to try this one!

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