Korean Doenjang Pork & Green Frisée Rice Bowl
Savoury doenjang-glazed pork mince over steamed rice with quick pickled cucumber and Aeroveg Green Frisée — a hearty Korean bowl in 30 minutes.
Doenjang — Korea's fermented soybean paste — has an earthy, savoury depth that transforms pork in minutes without any long marinating or slow cooking. It's the backbone of Korean home cooking: funky, complex, and deeply satisfying. Aeroveg Green Frisée adds a bitter, lacy note that plays brilliantly against the paste's richness, cutting through the umami the way perilla or fresh chrysanthemum greens might in a traditional Korean meal. This is weeknight comfort food, assembled simply and eaten well.
Method
- Quick pickle the cucumber. Toss cucumber slices with rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and a pinch of salt. Set aside — they'll be ready by the time everything else is done.
- Mix the doenjang sauce. Stir together doenjang, gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, and water in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Brown the pork. Heat neutral oil in a wide pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and fry 30 seconds. Add minced pork and cook, breaking it apart, for 6–8 minutes until well-browned and cooked through.
- Add the sauce. Pour the doenjang sauce over the pork. Stir to coat and cook 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens and clings to the pork.
- Finish with sesame. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil.
- Assemble the bowls. Spoon rice into bowls. Arrange Aeroveg Green Frisée on one side and the pickled cucumber on the other. Spoon the doenjang pork over the rice.
- Garnish and serve. Top with spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Aeroveg Green Frisée has a distinctive bitter, slightly peppery quality that holds up beautifully against bold fermented flavours like doenjang. Don't cook it — the raw leaves are the point, providing freshness and crunch against the warm, sticky pork.