Buta Kimchi (豚キムチ) Recipe

Today was a hot day, so I didn't have much appetite. All I wanted was something savoury and spicy, so I cooked Buta Kimchi (豚キムチ, pork kimchi stir-fry) for lunch. Kimchi is obviously from Korea, but the Japanese have a pretty darn good version of it. Well, in my opinion at least. I haven't tried an authentic Korean Buta Kimchi yet haha. Sorry, I don't know the original Korean name of this dish too.

Dad was in Korea recently for work and brought back huge packets of Kimchi {and other Korean goodies} for mum. I nicked a packet because I just love Kimchi!!! I cooked this dish quite often in Japan because you could get pretty decent {in non-Korean standards heh} Kimchi in 業務スーパー for an affordable price. Kimchi here isn't that cheap, unless you buy in bulk from the Korean supermarkets, but as Korean supermarkets are out of the way for us, I don't buy it often.

Again, I cooked this dish out of memory so measurements aren't 100% accurate. My mum always says that the most important thing when you cook is to taste the food as you are cooking, and to adjust accordingly. What one person deems as just right, might be too salty for you.

One thing you must know though, is that Buta Kimchi isn't just all about Kimchi. There's another important ingredient... which is Chogochujang (vinegared hot pepper paste). Usually people just use Gochujang (hot pepper paste), but I like Chogochujang because it gives it an added interesting flavour to the spiciness.

Time taken:
About 30 minutes

Ingredients:
300g pork belly (sliced)
1 ricebowl of Kimchi (chunked)
2 medium purple onions (thinly sliced)
1 tsp sesame oil
2-3 tbsp Chogochujang
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/3 ricebowl of water
200g enoki mushrooms (chop off the roots)
A few pea sprouts

Method:

1. Heat and oil the pan with sesame oil. Don't need too much as the pork belly is really fatty.
2. Make sure pan is really hot then add the pork belly layer by layer.
3. Stir fry the pork belly, and when cooked add in the Kimchi and onions.
4. Add in the Chogochujang and soya sauce.
5. Continue stir frying for about 2-3 mins.
6. Add enoki mushrooms and water.
7. Turn the heat low and cover it for about 10 mins. This is to tenderise the pork and cook the enoki mushrooms.
8. After you open the cover, add cornflour in water to the dish if the sauce is to watery to thicken it. The sauce should be a thick lovely red and cover all the ingredients evenly.
   
9. Garnish with pea sprouts.
10. Serve hot.

Ok, I didn't have 長ネギ(naganegi, spring onions) so I used pea sprouts as a garnish. If you have 長ネギ use that instead. This dish can probably serve 4. It would be a great side dish to チヂミ (Korean pancakes, Jeon) or to a nice cold beer, like how its served in izakayas (Japanese tapas bars).

Warning though, this is a highly addictive dish! The boy loves it so I guess I will be making it more often :)

{Erm sometimes the Japanese serve it with mayonnaise. I don't like it like that, but you can try if you want to.}

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