Moksal-gui (Grilled Pork Collar)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Charcoal grill, tabletop grill, grill pan, or 12-inch cast-iron skillet
• •Kitchen scissors
• •Tongs
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional but useful

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the pork

   Pat the pork collar dry on both sides. Sprinkle it evenly with 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt and the black pepper, then let it stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. This short rest seasons the surface and pulls off the chill, so the pork browns before the center overcooks.

   Use 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt for 800g meat. That is about 0.8 percent by weight, enough to season the pork without making every wrap taste like salt.
2. 2

   Prepare the table

   While the pork rests, wash and dry the lettuce and perilla leaves. Put out the ssamjang, sliced garlic, sliced chilies, kimchi, and rice. Mix the crushed sesame seeds, fine sea salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and gochugaru if using in a small dish. Moksal waits for no one after it comes off the grill, so the table must be ready first.

3. 3

   Heat the grill

   Heat a charcoal grill, tabletop grill, grill pan, or heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. If using a skillet, film it with the neutral oil. The surface should be hot enough that the pork gives a steady sizzle the moment it touches, but not so fierce that the fat scorches before the meat cooks through.

4. 4

   Grill without crowding

   Lay the pork slices down with space between them. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on the first side without moving them, until the underside is deeply browned at the edges. Turn once and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. If the slices are thick, stand them briefly on their fatty edges with tongs to render and brown that strip.

5. 5

   Cut and finish

   Move the browned pork to the cooler side of the grill or lower the heat under the pan. Cut each slice into bite-size pieces with kitchen scissors, then cook 1 to 2 minutes more, turning the pieces so the cut sides lose their raw look. Pork collar should be juicy, lightly springy, and cooked through; use a thermometer if you are unsure and pull it at 63 C, then rest it.

6. 6

   Rest briefly

   Transfer the pork to a warm plate and let it rest 3 minutes. This is not restaurant fussing. The juices settle, and the first wrap will taste of pork instead of leaking across the plate.

7. 7

   Wrap and eat

   Make each ssam with one lettuce or perilla leaf, a spoonful of rice, one piece of pork, a small dab of ssamjang, a slice of garlic, and chili if you like heat. Do not bury the pork under paste. Moksal is leaner than belly, and its good taste is in the clean meat and the browned edge. Let it taste like itself.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for pork collar cut 1.5 to 2 cm thick. Thin supermarket slices can still be cooked, but shorten the time and turn them quickly; they will not stay as juicy.
• •Do not marinate this version. Moksal-gui is at its best when salt, heat, and pork do the work. Save sweet soy marinades for dishes that ask for them.
• •A little sourness belongs beside the meat. Well-fermented kimchi, scallion salad (pa-muchim), or lightly dressed onion cuts through the fat better than adding more sauce.
• •No tabletop grill is no shame. A heavy skillet and kitchen scissors give a proper home version, as long as you cook in batches and keep the surface hot.

Advance Preparation

• •The leaves, garlic, chilies, ssamjang, kimchi, and dipping salt can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered. Dry the leaves well so the wraps do not drip.
• •Do not salt the pork more than 1 hour ahead for this quick grill. A longer salt rest changes the texture toward cured meat, which is not what this dish wants.
• •Leftover grilled moksal keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat it quickly in a hot skillet and eat it with kimchi fried rice or tucked into fresh ssam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 490g)