Spicy gochujang pork rice bowls
Sweet, spicy Korean-style ground pork over rice with quick-pickled cucumbers, a cheap dinner that tastes like a treat.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.99 a serving
- 620 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 lb ground pork
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¼ cups water
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Each serving has about 620 calories, 26 g protein, 69 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $1.99 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it with the water in a .
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the cucumber with the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and set it aside.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Ten minutes is all it takes for the cucumbers to turn tangy and crisp.Stir the gochujang, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil together in another bowl.
Heat a large over medium-high, add the pork, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, breaking it up, until with no pink left.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: No oil needed. Ground pork gives off plenty of fat as it cooks.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, ginger and most of the green onions for 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heat
Pour in the sauce and stir 1 to 2 minutes, until the pork is glossy and a little sticky.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Serve the pork over the rice with the pickled cucumbers, the rest of the green onions and the sesame seeds.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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30-minute dinners ›Pantry dinners ›What to make with rice and cucumber ›