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Korean Braised Pork and Kimchi Quesadilla

This recipe uses Gochujang in the braised meat; it’s a spicy Korean paste with a subtle sweetness made from fermented chilies.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Korean, Mexican
Keyword braise, braised, cheese, gochujang, korean, pork shoulder, quesadilla
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 1013kcal

Ingredients

For the braised Korean pork:

  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion roughly chopped
  • 4 ½ pounds Farmer John bone-in pork shoulder cut into 3” cubes
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 8 cloves garlic smashed
  • ½ cup gochujang paste divided
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1½ cups beef broth
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

For assembling the quesadilla:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  • 1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup kimchi roughly chopped
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the braised Korean pork:

  • Preheat oven to 300ºF (150ºC).
  • Heat a 7¼-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil and heat through. Add the onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and opaque, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Season the pork with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add the pork and sear until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl stir together half of the gochujang and soy sauce.
  • Add the onions back to the pan with garlic, gochujang mixture and the beef stock. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover and move to the oven. Cook, stirring every 30 minutes, until the pork is fork tender, about 2 hours.
  • Use a spoon to skim the oil from the top and discard. Remove the meat from the broth to a large mixing bowl and gently shred the meat, discarding and fatty pieces. Stir in the remaining gochujang and lime juice.

For assembling the quesadilla:

  • Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add one tablespoon of the butter and allow to melt. Add one of the tortillas and evenly top with ½ cup of Monterey Jack cheese, ½ cup of the Cheddar, 1 cup of the shredded meat with sauce and ¼ cup of the kimchi. Top with the other tortilla and cook, flipping once, until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Remove from the pan and slice into 6 equal slices. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 1013kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 87g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 290mg | Sodium: 1750mg | Potassium: 1381mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 873IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 632mg | Iron: 6mg