Chef K was really excited to make the bulgogi totchos, so I was tasked with coming up with something that went well with it. What the heck goes with that???
That’s when it came to me, the last time I had totchos was in a bar, so why not make bar food? Small disclaimer, neither Chef K nor I drink alcohol, so this was inspired by what I see people eating in all the Korean dramas I watch. That’s why there is a Korean twist on this recipe.
I’ve recently made a lot of fried chicken recipes, so this time I wanted to mix it up. Instead of making a classic fried chicken dish, I went with fried pork belly! My parents have been making a lot of Chinese roast pork lately, so this was partially inspired by all the roast pork they’ve been giving me.
The great thing about pork belly is that it gets crispy on it’s own. We used the air fryer for this because pork belly is plenty fatty, no need to add more oil to this recipe.
As an ode to the classic Korean fried chicken, we tossed the crispy pork belly in a sweet and spicy sauce. The great thing is the sauce just coats the pork belly. It doesn’t make the sauce soggy, so the pork belly maintains its crunch.
Keep your sesame seeds on your pork, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Korean Fried Pork Belly
Ingredients
1 lb pork belly
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Green onion, chopped
Sesame seeds
Sauce
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
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Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
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Cut pork belly into 2 inch pieces and season with the salt and pepper.
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Place pork belly in an even layer in the air fryer and fry for 20 minutes. Turn them every 5 minutes.
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While pork belly is cooking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepot. Bring sauce to a boil, then let simmer for 5 minutes.
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Once pork belly is done, toss in sauce and garnish with green onions and sesame seed.