Creamy Grits with Sauteed Kimchi and Spicy Pork Belly Bowl
My mother refused to let food go to waste but she always cooked more than what we could eat. That’s a simple equation for leftovers, right? I’m sure many of you can relate to that. On the weekends, my mom would always prepare a traditional, hearty southern style breakfast. I would wake up to the sound of bacon crackling, sausage crisping and the smell of eggs. The star on the menu was always a silent but warm dish...grits. My mom viewed my grits as my dad’s version of rice so she would prepare an abundance of it. My father would eat only so much and same for myself and my brother and she would be so annoyed with us! She would grab a bowl, fill it with kimchi and mix it up with her grits. It was such a weird combination but in retrospect...that probably was my first memory I had of fusion cooking. Anyway...this dish is such a dope one and it’s prepared in honor of my amazing parents who at first glance you may not know they go together but if you know them, you know how and why it makes perfect sense that they do :)
Ingredients:
Quick serve Grits
1 Cup Water
1 Cup of Buttermilk
2 Tbsp Ghee (or Butter)
Sesame Oil
1/2 pound Pork Belly sliced and uncooked
Kimchi
1 Tsp Garlic (minced)
Onions
1/2 Tsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Korean Red Pepper Paste
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper (Korean)
1 Tsp Rice Vinegar
1 Tsp Sugar
Sesame Seeds (lightly toasted)
Sliced Green Onions (For garnish)
Egg (Optional)
What you will need: Grill Pan, brush, pot, fry pan
Serves: 2-4 people
Prep Time: 15-20 mins/Cook Time: 30 mins
Let’s. Do. This.
First we are going to start with the marinade for the pork belly. In a mixing bowl combine Red Pepper Paste, Korean crushed red peppers, sugar, rice vinegar, fish sauce and minced garlic. Stir the ingredients together, the paste will begin to slightly thin out.
Take the pork belly and rub the marinade onto it covering all sides and place in the refrigerator overnight (or for min 2 hours).
Once the meat is done marinating, the rest of the process will go by pretty quickly.
Start by following the the directions on your quick serve grits box to make the grits. The only change I make to the grits is to add 1 cup of buttermilk and a 1 Tbsp of ghee with a dash of salt into pot for the creaminess.
In a fry pan, warm the ghee and sesame oil. Once hot, add the kimchi and stir lightly to fry for about 5 mins on medium heat. Feel free to add any additional veggies if you would like into this step, or seasoning. Personally, I like the flavor of buttered kimchi..is that weird?
Warm up a grill pan and while it's warming, slice the marinated pork belly. The pork belly is fatty on it's own but I like to lightly brush the grill pan with sesame oil.
Add the pork belly and cook all the way through on both sides (about 5-6 mins per side).
Note. The is is an optional step, I added a poached egg to the dish so if you would like to do the same, feel free to do so in this step.
Once all items are done cooking, you can begin to assemble your bowl. Start with spooning the grits into a bowl, Add the poached egg on top followed by the pork belly and finally topped with the kimchi. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish and serve!