Korean Simmered Pork Belly Wraps with Spicy Radish Salad

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A whole slab of pork belly poached low and slow with doenjang, ginger, scallion and coffee-dark aromatics until it slices clean and tastes savory rather than fatty. It comes to the table warm and fanned out, with steamed napa cabbage leaves, a sharp-sweet gochugaru radish salad and a bowl of nutty ssamjang so everyone builds their own bites. It's a low-effort, high-payoff centerpiece: the pot does the work, the table does the assembly.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb skinless pork belly, in one slab
• 12 cups water
• 3 tbsp doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 3-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into coins
• 4 scallions, halved crosswise
• 1/2 cup soju or dry white wine
• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules or 1/2 cup brewed coffee
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2 dried bay leaves

• 1 lb Korean radish or daikon, peeled
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp salted shrimp (saeujeot), minced, optional
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

• 3 tbsp doenjang
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp honey or rice syrup
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 scallion, minced
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tbsp water, as needed

• 1 large head napa cabbage
• 1 tbsp kosher salt (for blanching water)
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeño or Korean green chiles, sliced
• 1 cup perilla or shiso leaves, optional
• 1/2 cup kimchi, roughly chopped
• 4 cups cooked short-grain rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Rinse the pork belly under cold water and pat dry. If the slab is wider than your pot, cut it into two pieces so it lies flat and stays fully submerged.
2. In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, whisk the doenjang into the 12 cups water until mostly dissolved. Add the onion, smashed garlic, ginger coins, scallions, soju, coffee, sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Lower the pork belly into the boiling broth, fat side up. Return to a boil, skim off the gray foam that rises in the first 5 minutes, then reduce the heat until the surface just shivers with small bubbles — about 190°F. Cover partially and simmer 75 to 95 minutes, turning the pork once at the halfway point and topping up with hot water if it is no longer submerged.
4. Test for doneness at 75 minutes: a skewer or thin knife should slide into the thickest part with almost no resistance and the fat should feel yielding, not rubbery. If it drags, keep simmering in 10-minute increments. Do not boil hard or the meat will turn stringy.
5. While the pork simmers, make the radish salad. Cut the radish into thin matchsticks about 2 inches long and 1/8 inch thick. Toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a colander and let drain 20 minutes, then squeeze gently to shed excess liquid — the radish should still be crisp.
6. In a bowl, stir together the gochugaru, rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, fish sauce, salted shrimp if using, grated garlic and ginger. Add the drained radish and toss with your hands (gloves help) until every strand is coated. Fold in the sliced scallions and sesame seeds. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes; it improves over an hour.
7. Make the ssamjang: stir the doenjang, gochujang, sesame oil, honey, grated garlic, minced scallion and crushed sesame seeds together in a small bowl. Loosen with water 1 teaspoon at a time until it is scoopable but not runny. Scrape into a serving bowl.
8. Prep the cabbage. Separate the napa leaves, discarding the toughest outer ones, and trim the thick stem ends so the leaves are 5 to 6 inches long. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and blanch the leaves in batches for 60 to 90 seconds, just until the white ribs are pliable and translucent at the edges. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain well and stack on a platter. (For a raw, crunchier wrap, skip blanching and use only the pale inner leaves.)
9. When the pork is tender, turn off the heat and let it rest in the hot broth for 15 minutes — this keeps it juicy and seasons it through. Lift it onto a cutting board, blot the surface, and rest 5 minutes more.
10. Slice the pork against the grain into 1/4-inch-thick pieces, keeping the layers of meat and fat intact, and fan them onto a warm platter. Spoon a few tablespoons of hot broth over the slices to keep them glossy.
11. Serve family-style: platter of pork, stack of cabbage leaves, bowl of radish salad, ssamjang, sliced garlic and chiles, perilla leaves, kimchi and rice. To build a wrap, lay a cabbage leaf in your palm, add a little rice, a slice of pork, a dab of ssamjang, a pinch of radish salad and a sliver of garlic or chile, then fold and eat in one bite.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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