Oven Roasted Korean Pork Belly and Onion Salad

Flavored with Korean soybean paste (doenjang) and honey, this oven roasted Korean pork belly is succulent and full of flavor. Serve this savory pork belly with spicy onion salad.

LOVE pork belly? The you should try this oven roasted Korean pork belly with onion salad. It is inexpensive, direct to cook with, and savory.

We call this layered belly part of pig, “Samgyupsal, 삼겹살”. There are two most popular ways to enjoy this savory pig in Korea.

One: Slice to bite size pieces and grill. Serve with lettuce and pungent topping sauce. This is the typical Samgyupsal dish.

Two: Braise the whole chunk with a bunch of herbs in water, then slice and serve with spicy salad. This particular dish is called Bossam(보쌈).

Today, we are throwing a Korean Pork Bellyrecipe that is direct and short to prepare at home. But we won’t grill nor braise. We are going to roast our pig in an oven.

We are using the western method of cooking but flavoring the belly with Korean ingredients. We will slobber the belly with the lovely Korean soy bean paste sauce to flavor the pork. How do you like that?

The result? The succulent pig with crisp skin and it is oh, so savory! Try with the spicy onion salad wrapped in lettuce. You will fall in love with your pig all over again. 🙂 This is one of many other lovely Korean recipes for pork.

How the dish comes together

Here is a strip of pork belly. Quite slim…

Most pork belly chunks comes with skin. We would like to keep it because it will get crisp and keep the meat underneath moist during cooking. If you don’t want it, simply, just remove it.

In a small mixing bowl, combine Korean soy bean paste, garlic powder, ginger powder, and honey.

Oh, we forgot to add some oil.

Now the sauce is ready. Bring on the belly!

Spread the belly with the sauce all over. Let it sit for 15 minutes on the counter so that it will flavor the meat.

Grease a rack with oil and place it on a baking pan. Place the pork belly on top. (we cut it in half)

Drizzle a little more oil on top to crisp up the skin even more.

Bake in the preheated 425F oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and continue to bake for 20-30 more minutes depends on the thickness of your meat. Our pig was slim and he was done within 30 minutes total.

NOTE: If you are using a slab of thick pork belly, it will take whole lot longer. Adjust the baking time accordingly.

Spicy Onion Salad Recipe

Meanwhile, let’s make the onion salad. Slice red onion and yellow onion thinly.

Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. That will not only crisp up the onion, but also get rid of spiciness/bitterness of onion a little bit.

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

Drain water from the onions and coat with the dressing. Done!

When the pork belly is done, cool down a little. Then, slice beautifully…, any thickness your mouth desire.

Place a slice of your lovely pork on a leafy lettuce and top with onion salad. Put it in your mouth lightning fast before anyone sees you.

We were never been a huge fan of pork belly, but now we believe. PORK BELLY IS GOOD! Pork! You are truly the other white meat.

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork belly
• 2 tbsp Korean soy bean paste, duenjang
• 1 tsbp honey
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp canola oil, + more

For the onion salad

• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• dashes freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In ca small bowl combine soy bean paste, honey, garlic powder, ginger powder, and 1 teaspoon of oil. Mix well. Spread the paste mixture to pork belly and rub all around. Let it sit for 15 minutes on the counter.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a rack with oil and place over baking pan (line the pan with foil for easy clean up).
3. Put the pork belly on the rack and drizzle a little more oil on top. Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350ºF and continue to bake for 20-30 minutes depends on the thickness of the meat. (we used the very slim cut of pork belly which took very short time, about 30 minutes total. If using a slab of pork belly, it should take far longer. When inserted with a meat temperature, it should be around 165ºF)
4. Let the pork rest for a few minutes, then slice into desired size. Serve with onion salad over lettuce.
5. To make onion salad, soak the onion slices in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain well. Combine chili flakes, sugar, soy sauce, cinder vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a bowl. Toss the onions with the dressing.