Kongbul (Spicy Soybean Sprout Pork Stir-fry)

Korean home cooking is full of smart, efficient recipes that layer flavors and textures beautifully. One of those dishes is Kongnamul Bulgogi or Kongbul for short: a delicious one-pan meal made with thinly sliced pork belly, soybean sprouts, and a punchy gochujang-based sauce.

This dish is a cousin of traditional bulgogi, but instead of marinating the meat and grilling it on its own, you cook it over a bed of vegetables like kongnamul (soybean sprouts), enoki mushrooms, and perilla leaves. The vegetables steam and release moisture as they cook, creating a built-in broth that tenderizes the pork and infuses the entire dish with flavor. It’s easy, satisfying, and perfect with a bowl of hot rice.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• One-pan wonder: Minimal prep and cleanup
• Well-balanced: Savory, spicy, and naturally sweet from the vegetables
• Flexible: You can use beef or chicken, or swap out veggies depending on what you have
• Perfect with rice: The sauce seeps into the veggies and pork, making it ideal for spooning over steamed rice

5 from 1 vote

Kongbul (Spicy Soybean Sprout Pork Stir-fry)

Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 10 mins Total Time 20 mins Difficulty: Beginner

Print Recipe

0 Add to Favorites

Recipe Keys: L Low Effort O One Pan Meals P Pork

Ingredients

Cook Mode Cooking Mode Disabled

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 300 g thinly sliced pork belly
• 1 bag soybean sprouts (about 200g)
• 1 pack enoki mushrooms
• 10 perilla leaves
• 1 small onion

For the sauce

• 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. Prep your ingredients

   Rinse the soybean sprouts and enoki mushrooms. Trim off the root end of the enoki and separate them. Roughly chop the perilla leaves and thinly slice the onion.

1. Layer the vegetables

   In a wide skillet or shallow pan, spread out the soybean sprouts, mushrooms, perilla leaves, and sliced onion to form an even bed of vegetables.

1. Add the pork

   Lay the pork belly slices directly on top of the vegetables, distributing them evenly so they cook at the same rate.

1. Make the sauce

   In a small bowl, combine the gochujang, gochugaru, minced garlic, rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir until well mixed, then drizzle the sauce evenly over the pork.

1. Steam and cook

   Cover the pan with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. The vegetables will start to release moisture, steaming the pork from below.

1. Mix and finish cooking

   After 5 minutes, remove the lid and mix everything together thoroughly. The pork should finish cooking in just a few more minutes, especially if it’s thinly sliced.

1. Serve hot

   Spoon the pork and vegetables over bowls of hot rice.

Rate this recipe: