Try the hottest food trend of 2015 with these tasty Korean recipes!

Korean food has been the foodie trend for 2015, with many stylish Korean restaurants and street-food pop-ups occurring all throughout the capital.

Korean food, much like its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, mainly focuses on rice, vegetables and meats. Korean BBQs, unlike the chargrilled (read burnt) British BBQ, is usually done at the table with food cooked to order.

Other popular dishes include Anju, which is literally translated as ‘drinking food’ as it is intended to be eaten while drinking alcohol. If you visit a street-food restaurant or pop-up, then don’t be surprised by the blend of Korean and American!

The rise of Korean food is so hot that it is expanding into our homes, with the introduction of do-it-yourself sauces like Yogiyo.

The brainchild of Korean-born, Sue Youn and her husband Ben Ansah, Yogiyo has bottled the unique flavours of Korean cooking so you can join in with the trend at home. After winning the backing of Peter Jones in the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, Yogiyo has become a hit with Selfridges and Sainsbury’s.

Here at WeAreTheCity, we’ve put together some of our favourite recipes to inspire you to create your own Korean taste sensation.

Slow-cooked Pork Belly SSam

Serves 4

600g pork belly

4 garlic cloves, crushed

7 spring onions, roughly chopped

75g ginger, skin on, roughly sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp Yogiyo Galbi Marinade

For the glaze

½ tbsp Yogiyo Galbi Marinade

1 tbsp clear honey

1½ tbsp grated ginger

4 tbsp Yogiyo Gochu Jang Chilli Sauce for Dipping

To serve

Baby gem lettuce leaves

Toasted sesame seeds

Chopped spring onions

1. Season the pork belly with salt and pepper and cover with garlic, spring onions, ginger, onion and Galbi Marinade. Put into a casserole dish, cover and marinate for 20 minutes or ideally overnight in the refrigerator for better flavour. Heat the oven to 140°C, cover the meat with water and a tight fitting lid, and cook for 3 hours.
2. Remove the pork belly from the casserole and place on an oven tray lined with foil to cool. Discard the liquid. Remove the fat and cut the meat into 2cm pieces.
3. Heat the oven to 180°C. In the meantime, mix all of the glaze ingredients together into a smooth paste and brush over the pork. Place the pork in the oven at for about 10-15 minutes until the glaze is caramelised and golden brown.
4. Serve on lettuce leaves sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions.

Calamari Stir-fry

Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil

3 spring onions, chopped

200g calamari, sliced into rings and seasoned

150g tender stem broccoli, chopped in half lengthways

100g green beans

4 tbsp Yogiyo Gochu Jang Chilli Sauce for Cooking

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp soy sauce

100ml water

Rice or noodles, to serve

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the spring onions on a low heat until they soften, for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the calamari and vegetables and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add the Yogiyo Gochu Jang, garlic and soy sauce, and stir-fry for 3 minutes, then add the water. Cook until the sauce thickens, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
4. Serve on top of rice or noodles.

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