Korean-Style Pork Belly and Fish Cake Stew (韓燉魚片豬腩肉, Hon4 Dan6 Jyu4 Pin3 Zyu1 Naam5 Juk6)

I made this pork belly and fish cake stew using three basic Korean ingredients: hot pepper powder (gochugaru), hot pepper paste (gochujang), and fermented soybean paste (doenjang). I am fortunate to live in an area where there is a large Koreatown, so these ingredients (and the fish cakes) are readily available at multiple Korean markets. As with all ingredients, there are multiple brands that can be purchased. My criteria for picking a particular brand of hot pepper paste and fermented soybean paste was what ingredients were used to make them. All the brands’ pastes were made in South Korea and the brand I chose is unknown since the label is mostly written in Korean. I chose this particular brand because it didn’t have any added preservatives or sugar. It was amazing to see that many brands had corn syrup high on their list of ingredients! For the hot pepper powder, it comes in both a fine and coarse grind (I used the coarse), and from my limited knowledge of this ingredient, I picked the brand on sale and in the size that wouldn’t overwhelm me (this is used to make Kimchi, so you can purchase this in 10 lb. (5 kg.) packages and larger!).

Making this dish was a nice change in tastes for me using the Korean pastes and chili powder. The spiciness is controlled by the amount of hot chili powder used in the sauce, while the pastes provide the basic flavor. The amount of hot chili powder probably does not meet the level of spiciness found in Korean dishes, so feel free to increase (or decrease) the amount.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lb.	1 kg.	Pork belly (豬腩肉, zyu1 naam5 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) cubes
1 lb.	500 g.	Fish cake (魚片, jyu4 pin3), cut into or purchased as 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Daikon (白蘿蔔, baak6 lo4 baak6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Fresh button mushrooms (蘑菇, mo4 gu1)
1 in.	2.5 cm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press

 

Sauce Ingredients

3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ cup	125 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Korean Hot Pepper Powder (고추가루, Gochugaru)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Korean Hot Pepper Paste (고추장, Gochujang)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Korean Fermented Soybean Paste (된장, Doenjang)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
		Chicken stock (雞湯, gai1 tong1) or water to cover the ingredients in the slow cooker

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
6.5 qt.	6 L.	Slow cooker (crock pot) to cook the stew





Korean Hot Pepper Powder
(고추가루, Gochugaru)

Instructions

1. Place the tapioca starch and then liquid sauce ingredients into the slow cooker: soy sauce, and Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry. Thoroughly mix the tapioca starch together with the other ingredients.
2. Place the rest of sauce ingredients into the slow cooker: Korean Hot Pepper Powder, Korean Hot Pepper Paste, Korean Fermented Soybean Paste, and hoisin sauce. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Cut the pork belly into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces and place into the slow cooker together with the garlic and ginger crushed in a garlic press.
4. If not purchased in 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces, cut the fish cake into that size and place into the slow cooker.
5. Clean the fresh button mushrooms and place into the slow cooker. Add enough chicken stock or water to just cover the ingredients.
6. Wash and cut the carrots into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) 

   

   Korean Hot Pepper Paste
   (고추장, Gochujang)
   
   

   pieces on the diagonal and place into the slow cooker.
7. Wash and cut the daikon into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal and place into the slow cooker.
8. Cover the slow cooker, set the heat to low, and allow to cook for up to 8 hours. When cooking is complete, use a slotted spoon to remove the ingredients from the slow cooker and into the serving bowl. Remove any excess fat from the sauce and then pour the sauce into the serving bowl. Serve the dish with steamed rice.

Korean Fermented Soybean Paste
(된장, Doenjang)