Our 3rd entry to our Keto Korean BBQ series happens to be one of our favorites! This Korean BBQ Garlic Marinated Pork Belly is a traditional dish that is available at most Korean BBQ restaurants.
Like most of the Korean BBQ meats, this one requires overnight marination and is cooked on the BBQ grill, although you can pan fry it as well. It’s relatively straight forward and like most recipes, everyone has their own version of the dish, including us at LCA!
Our version was inspired by the style found at GEN Korean BBQ, which we found to have more of a garlicky, salty umami profile than at other restaurants. We also added some extra flavors in the marinade designed to create a bolder finish.
So next time you are looking for a good BBQ at home, combine this with our Korean BBQ Bologi recipe and you’ll be having a Keto Korean BBQ FEAST in no time!
The meat holds flavors of umami garlic infused with smoke and salt on the finish. A perfect counterpart to the sweet-savory flavors found in our Korean BBQ Bolgogi!
We also strongly recommend cooking this on the BBQ to get that extra smokey flavor in there, but the recipe does cover both pan frying and BBQ. Either way, you’ll get a sample of some great tasting Korean BBQ style pork belly at only ~1g net carbs per serving!
For this dish, the special ingredients you would need are Japanese Cooking Sake (can be replaced with dry sherry), Sesame Oil and Korean Miso (can be replaced Japanese Miso if needed). All these can be picked up on Amazon (aside from Japanese sake) or a local Asian Supermarket.
Now, let’s get cooking!
Prepping Time 5M
Marinating Time 24H
Cooking Time 5M
Total Time 24H10M
Net Carb/Serv ~1g
Servings 1-2
Ingredients
Pork Belly
- 1 1/2 lb Slice of Pork Belly (the Costco one is about 10″ in length)
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil (if pan frying)
Marinade
- 4-6 Garlic Clove (more depending on personal preference)
- 1/4 Whole Jalapeno
- 2 tbsp Japanese Sake
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp Korean miso (can be replaced with Japanese Miso)
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Grate garlic with a grater or a garlic press and place into a mixing bowl.
3) Finely dice jalapeno and combine into the mixing bowl.
4) Combine rest ingredients for marinade into the mixing bowl – Japanese sake, Sesame Oil and Korean miso. Mix well and set aside.
5) Cut pork belly into ~4 inch lengths and ~1/2 inch thickness and add into a zip-lock, along with the marinade. Massage in the marinade ensuring equal distribution. Note – it’s easier to slice meat more precisely if semi-frozen.
6) Place zip-lock bag flat in the fridge for 24 hours (up to 36 hours) flipping over at least once half way through the marinate.
7a) If pan frying, add 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil to a large Teflon frying pan and bring up to temperature on high, should take around 1-2 minutes. Once up to temp, reduce to medium heat, transfer pork belly and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side until nicely browned. Transfer to a serving plate. Note – watch carefully when cooking since miso will burn very easily.
7b) Preheat grill on high until temp reaches ~350F. Once the grill is up to temp, lower heat to medium-low and place pork belly on the grill. Close lid and cook for ~2-3 minute until browned. Flip pork bellies and repeat. Once cooked, transfer to a serving plate. Note – watch carefully when cooking since miso will burn very easily.
Hope you enjoy your low-carb/keto Korean BBQ Garlic Marinated Pork Belly!
If you’re looking for other recipe ideas, be sure to check out our growing Recipe Index full of Asian inspired recipes!
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Korean BBQ Garlic Marinated Pork Belly
Ingredients
Pork Belly
- 1 1/2 lb Slice of Pork Belly the Costco one is about 10″ in length
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil if pan frying
Marinade
- 4-6 Clove Garlic more depending on personal preference
- 1/4 Whole Jalapeno
- 2 tbsp Japanese Sake
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp Korean miso can be replaced with Japanese Miso
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Grate garlic with a grater or a garlic press and place into a mixing bowl.
- Finely dice jalapeno and combine into the mixing bowl.
- Combine rest ingredients for marinade into the mixing bowl - Japanese sake, Sesame Oil and Korean miso. Mix well and set aside.
- Cut pork belly into ~4 inch lengths and ~1/2 inch thickness and add into a zip-lock, along with the marinade. Massage in the marinade ensuring equal distribution. Note - it's easier to slice meat more precisely if semi-frozen.
- Place zip-lock bag flat in the fridge for 24 hours (up to 36 hour) flipping over at least once half way through the marinate.
- A) If pan frying, add 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil to a large Teflon frying pan and bring up to temperature on high, should take around 1-2 minutes. Once up to temp, reduce to medium heat, transfer pork belly and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side until nicely browned. Transfer to a serving plate. Note - watch carefully when cooking since miso will burn very easily. B) Preheat grill on high until temp reaches ~350F. Once the grill is up to temp, lower heat to medium-low and place pork belly on the grill. Close lid and cook for ~2-3 minute until browned. Flip pork bellies and repeat. Once cooked, transfer to a serving plate. Note - watch carefully when cooking since miso will burn very easily.
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