Gochujang Pork

This post is a perfect example of why I love food blogging. There are many reasons, actually, like the friends I’ve made – some even in person! But learning about ingredients and foods from different cuisines is really exciting to me.

Gochujang is one such ingredient, a sweet Korean chili paste that I’ve noticed for a while. Thanks to Amazon.com, I now own some.

I was reminded of this ingredient recently on Sally’s blog Bewitching Kitchen, when she posted Korean pork ribs, and on The Not So Creative Cook, when Jhuls posted Steak with Gochujang Sauce, and on A Cookbook Collection, when Donna posted Korean Chicken Wings. I knew I had to make something!

To test out the paste, I created a sauce using gochujang and a few other Korean ingredients. A wonderful reference for Korean ingredients can be found here, from Sue’s blog My Korean Kitchen.

I didn’t add anything sweet, because the first ingredient in the list of the gochujang is corn syrup. This is unfortunate, but when I looked in to making my own, I decided to pass on that complicated culinary endeavor.

Here’s what I did:

Gochujang Pork Tenderloins

2″ piece for fresh, peeled ginger
2 large cloves garlic
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup gochujang
4-5 tablespoons mirin
2 pork tenderloins
Salt
Pepper

Place the ginger, garlic, sesame seed oil, and soy sauce in a small blender jar or mini food processor, and process as much as you can.

Add the gochujang. It’s so pretty and has a wonderful spicy ketchup aroma. I wasn’t sure what it’s viscosity would be, but it’s quite paste-like.

To create my desired sauce consistency, I used about 5 tablespoons of mirin. I wanted the sauce pourable, but not thin.

Have a baking pan big enough for the pork tenderloins on hand and drizzle in some oil.

Season the pork tenderloins.

Spread some of the sauce on top of the tenderloins. Turn them over and place them in the oil.

Spread more of the sauce on the top. Make sure you still have enough for serving time. Cover the pan with foil and let the tenderloins marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to cook the pork, remove the pan from the refrigerator and let the meat come close to room temperature. I set my oven at a roasting temperature of 375. One could certainly also use a charcoal grill, weather permitting.

Use an in-oven temperature probe to monitor the pork. I prefer an internal temperature of NO MORE than 155 degrees Farenheit.

After cooking the pork tenderloins, immediately place them on a cutting board. After a good 15-minute rest, slice the pork cross-wise.

Place the slices on a serving platter. Brush on some of the remaining gochujang sauce.

If desired, sprinkle the meat with sesame seeds, cilantro, or chopped green onions.

This sauce is so good I’ve made a gochujang-based BBQ sauce twice since I made this tenderloin recipe. Gochujang is fabulous stuff!