Kongnamul-bulgogi (Pork and Bean Sprout Stir-Fry)

Kongbul begins with the pan looking unreasonable: a hill of soybean sprouts, sliced pork, and red seasoning piled so high the lid barely agrees. Don't add broth. The sprouts are the broth, and if you trust them for four quiet minutes they give enough liquid to cook the pork and loosen the sauce without drowning it.

This is not old court food, and I won't dress it in silk it never wore. It is modern, cheap, hungry food, the kind students split after class and office workers order when payday is still three days away. That doesn't make it careless. A budget dish needs more exactness, not less, because there is nowhere for a poor cut or a too-sweet sauce to hide.

Tonight it asks for thin pork, 500 grams of true soybean sprouts, and patience before you stir. Notebook 58 says the sauce must be strong in the bowl and restrained in the pan: gochujang for body, gochugaru for clean heat, soy for salt, only 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let it taste like pork and sprouts, not red candy. Serve it over rice while the sprouts still crunch, and the table will go quiet for the first few bites.