Crispy Pork Belly and Aged Kimchi Butter Fried Rice

Method

1. Cut the pork belly into 1 cm cubes, slice the green onion into thin rounds and chop the onion into 1 cm pieces. Squeeze the kimchi firmly (save the juice) and chop into 1 cm pieces. Break up the cold rice.

2. Spread the pork in a dry 26 cm pan and cook over medium heat for 7 min, turning now and then, until golden and crisp on all sides. Lift out the pork and pour off the fat, leaving about 2 tbsp in the pan.

   Add in this stepPork belly (skinless slab) 140 g

   medium heat

3. Add the green onion to the pork fat and fry over medium-low heat for 2 min, until the edges turn pale brown and smell nutty.

   Add in this stepLarge green onion (or small leek) ½

   medium-low heat

4. Add the onion, kimchi and sugar and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 5 min. When the moisture has cooked off and the edges brown and catch, giving a glossy, jammy look, the kimchi is caramelised.

   Add in this stepOnion 60 gAged, very sour kimchi (mukeunji) 240 gSugar 1 tsp

   medium-high heat

5. Push everything aside and fry the gochujang, soy sauce and kimchi juice in the empty space for 20 seconds. Turn the heat to high heat and add the rice in 1 addition(s), stir-frying each for 3 min while pressing and flipping with the spatula. Adding it all at once cools the pan and makes the rice soggy, so adding it gradually is the key.

   Add in this stepGochujang (Korean chili paste) 1 tspSoy sauce 1 tspKimchi juice 2 tbspCold cooked rice 400 g

   high heat

6. Return the crispy pork, turn off the heat and stir in the butter and sesame oil until the butter melts and every grain shines. Spoon into neat mounds in bowls.

   Add in this stepButter 15 gToasted sesame oil 1 tsp

7. Heat a generous amount of oil in a 22 cm pan over medium-high heat, add the eggs and fry for 2 min 30 sec. Tilt the pan and spoon the hot oil over the whites so the edges turn lacy and crisp while the yolks stay runny. Set on the rice, crumble over the seaweed and sprinkle with sesame.

   Add in this stepCooking oil (for the eggs) 1½ tbspEggs 2Roasted seaweed sheets (gim) 1Toasted sesame seeds 1 tsp

   medium-high heat