Suyuk (Boiled Sliced Pork)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart heavy pot with lid
• •Long tongs
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Sharp slicing knife
• •Small bowl for saeujeot sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the pork

   Use pork belly if you want soft layers of meat and fat, or shoulder if you want a meatier slice. Keep it in one thick piece, about 2 1/2 to 3 inches across, because small chunks dry out before the connective tissue loosens. Rinse only if there are bone chips, then pat dry. Good pork does not need a long soak.

   Do not use loin for suyuk. It is too lean for this treatment and will eat dry no matter how politely you simmer it.
2. 2

   Start the broth

   Put the water in a 5 to 6 quart heavy pot and whisk in the doenjang until no large lumps remain. Add the onion, daepa or scallions, smashed garlic, ginger, soju, peppercorns, and bay leaves if using. Bring it to a strong boil for 5 minutes before the pork goes in. The aromatics need that head start, and the doenjang seasons the water lightly while clearing the pork smell.

3. 3

   Add the pork

   Lower the pork into the boiling broth. The liquid should cover it by about 1 inch; add more water if the top sits exposed. Boil uncovered for 10 minutes, skimming any rough foam from the surface. This first hard boil tightens the outside just enough and pushes off the raw smell, but it is not how the meat finishes.

4. 4

   Simmer gently

   Lower the heat until the liquid moves in small, steady bubbles, then cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar. Simmer pork belly 50 to 60 minutes, or pork shoulder 70 to 80 minutes, turning once halfway through. Add hot water if the level drops below the meat. The pork is ready when a skewer slides in without resistance and the thickest part reads about 85 to 90 C for belly or 88 to 93 C for shoulder. Safe pork happens earlier, but suyuk texture needs time.

   Notebook 31 says: water trembling, not fighting. A rolling boil makes tight meat and cloudy broth. A gentle simmer gives you slices that hold together and still feel tender.
5. 5

   Rest in broth

   Turn off the heat and let the pork rest in the broth for 15 minutes. This is not idleness. Resting lets the juices settle and keeps the outside from drying while you prepare the sauce. If dinner is delayed, leave the pork in the warm broth and slice only when people are ready to eat.

6. 6

   Mix the saeujeot

   Stir together the chopped saeujeot, 1 tablespoon warm pork broth, gochugaru, sesame oil, chopped scallion, minced garlic, and sesame seeds. Taste it carefully. It should be salty and sharp, because it seasons one bite at a time, not the whole platter. If your salted shrimp is very strong, loosen it with another teaspoon of broth instead of adding sugar.

7. 7

   Slice and serve

   Lift the pork from the broth and blot the surface lightly. Slice across the grain into 6 to 8 mm pieces, thick enough to taste the pork and thin enough to fold over rice or a cabbage leaf. Arrange the slices overlapping on a platter. Serve at once with the saeujeot sauce, sliced raw garlic, green chili, rice, and kimchi or leaves if you have them. Dip lightly. One small piece of salted shrimp on a slice is enough.

Chef Tips

• •Buy pork with clean color and firm fat. Doenjang helps clear the smell of pork, but it cannot rescue old meat. My teacher would have sent poor pork back without a word, and she would have been right.
• •Pork belly is the classic comfort choice because the fat stays tender and the slices look generous. Shoulder is leaner and cheaper, and it works well if you give it the longer cooking time. Avoid small stew cubes for this dish.
• •Keep the doenjang measured. Two tablespoons in 10 cups of water is enough to season and clear the broth. More makes the meat taste like doenjang-jjigae, which is a good stew and the wrong supper.
• •A pressure cooker is an honest modern vessel. Use 4 cups water with the same aromatics, cook pork belly 25 minutes or shoulder 35 minutes at high pressure, then let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Still rest it, still slice it properly.
• •Do not pour the saeujeot sauce over the platter. It is a dipping seasoning. Each bite gets a little salted shrimp, a sliver of garlic if you want it, and enough rice to make sense of the fat.

Advance Preparation

• •Suyuk is best sliced just before serving, but the pork can be cooked 1 day ahead. Cool it in its broth for 30 minutes, refrigerate it submerged within 2 hours, then rewarm gently in the broth before slicing.
• •The saeujeot sauce can be mixed up to 1 day ahead, but add the scallion and sesame oil close to serving so they stay fresh and clear.
• •Leftover pork keeps for 3 days refrigerated in a little strained broth. Rewarm slices gently in the broth, or tuck them into kimchi-jjigae near the end so they do not toughen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)