Jeyuk-bokkeum제육볶음

Jeyuk (제육) simply means pork, and the word is commonly explained as a changed form of jeoyuk (猪肉), the Sino-Korean term for pork. It was already a familiar drinking snack a century ago. In Hyeon Jin-geon's 1924 short story "A Lucky Day," the rickshaw-puller hero stops at a stand-up tavern where neobiani beef, jeyuk, liver, kidneys and dried pollack sizzle away on the grill.

The distant ancestor of seasoned, fire-cooked pork is often said to be maekjeok (맥적), a dish enjoyed by the people of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo. Maekjeok is described as meat seasoned with doenjang (soybean paste), not gochujang, threaded on skewers and roasted over an open flame.

Today's jeyuk-bokkeum is made by marinating thick-cut pork in a sauce of gochujang, sugar, scallions, garlic and ginger, then stir-frying it in a pan. Sweet, spicy and lightly smoky from the high heat, it is the kind of dish that makes a bowl of rice disappear fast.