Grilled Pork Belly with Korean Chili Sauce, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Method

1. Peel and rinse the pear, onion, garlic and ginger, then blend them smooth. Chop the green onion. Rinse the pork belly and cut it into thin, bite sized slices.
2. Put the blended pear, onion, garlic and ginger in a large bowl, add 15 g green onion, 4 tablespoons oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons Korean chili paste, 2 tablespoons Korean soybean paste, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon Korean chili flakes, then mix well.
3. Coat every slice of pork with the sauce and marinate for at least 30 minutes, keeping a portion of the sauce aside for dipping.
4. Simmer the reserved sauce for 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat, and that is the dipping sauce.
5. Lay the pork on the grill and cook until both sides are evenly golden. As the slices cook through and dry out, brush on a little more sauce.
6. Cut the pork into small pieces and serve it with the dipping sauce or wrapped in fresh leaves and herbs, ssam style.

Tips

• Korean soybean paste, doenjang, is sold at Korean grocers.
• Look for pork belly with balanced lean and fat, a springy grain and a bright red color.
• For even thin slices, firm the pork in the freezer for a while and cut it with a very sharp knife.
• The blended pear in the sauce softens the grain, so a short marinating time keeps the pork belly from going mushy.
• Sauce brushed on late, when the pork is nearly done, holds its flavor, while sauce brushed on early burns.