Korean-Style Pork Ears
A wholesome, tasty, and budget-friendly Korean delicacy! Korean-style pork ears are a delicious treat made from simple, affordable ingredients. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how cheap pork ears are—and at how this dish turns out so easy on the wallet yet so tasty.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
Soak the pork ears in cold water for one hour.
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Step 2:
Singe off any bristles if needed. Scrub the ears well and rinse them under hot running water, cutting into the folds to wash out all the crevices. Cover with cold water, add a bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt, and simmer over medium heat for about one to two hours—though that's all approximate. How do you know they're done? The skin should turn soft but not yet pull away from the cartilage. Don't miss this point, or you'll end up with aspic!
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Step 3:
Lift the cooked ears out of the broth and let them cool. Another way to check: if a fork goes in easily, the ears are done. Let them cool completely, or they'll stick together later.
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Step 4:
Cut the cooled pork ears into thin strips.
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Step 5:
Add the sugar, soy sauce, and coriander to the sliced ears (you can swap the coriander for Korean carrot seasoning).
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Step 6:
Press in the garlic or mince it very finely, then add ground hot red pepper—or fresh. If using fresh, start with a quarter of a pod and add more later; chop it very fine.
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Step 7:
Add the apple cider (or rice) vinegar and mix. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet until very hot and pour it over the pork ears. Mix everything again and refrigerate to marinate for 24 hours.
- A note from experience: the recipe calls for half a cup of vegetable oil. To me that's far too much—the ears end up swimming in oil. I cut it in half, to a quarter cup (about 50 ml). To make sure the pork ears marinated all the way through, I stirred them now and then so every piece spent time in the marinade. In the end my pork ears weren't overly greasy, and I didn't have to pour all that oil down the drain—no sense wasting food. This dish works for lunch, dinner, or a snack. Serve it to friends alongside beer, and it'll earn a spot on the holiday table too. Worth noting: pork ears aren't just tasty but good for you, since they're rich in collagen, which helps keep your body young and healthy.
- When adding soy sauce, keep in mind it's quite salty—cut back on the total salt or you risk over-salting.
- Since everyone's tolerance for salt, sweetness, bitterness, heat, and acidity is different, always add spices and seasonings to your own taste. When trying a seasoning for the first time, remember that some are especially easy to overdo (chili pepper, for example).
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Garlic - 143 kcal/100g
- Soy sauce - 51 kcal/100g
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Vegetable oil - 873 kcal/100g
- Ground hot pepper - 21 kcal/100g
- Apple cider vinegar - 14 kcal/100g
- Ground coriander - 25 kcal/100g
- Pig ears - 211 kcal/100g
