Korean Spicy Pork
Korean spicy pork has a thick, spicy sauce that coats deliciously sauteed pork tenderloin. Served over rice and topped with some sesame seeds or green onions, this dish makes for a delicious meal.

Since 2022, there has been a regular threat of a sriracha shortage by the main producer of the red chili sauce, Huy Fong Foods.

One was thanks to a Mexican drought. Another was because of supplier issues. And yet another was blamed on the peppers being “too green,” CBS News reported.

I have to admit that none of these shortages would have been on my radar at all, if it weren’t for some major sriracha fans in my life. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever purchased a bottle.

This week’s recipe originally called for sriracha, but since it didn’t exist in my fridge, I decided to substitute it with a new favorite of mine: gochujang. I figured I could sub one spicy, red-chili-based product for another, and I was not disappointed.

This comes from the blog South Your Mouth. You can find the original post at https://www.southyourmouth.com/2014/09/spicy-pork.html. I switched around and added a few extra ingredients in my version.

Korean Spicy Pork
Print Recipe

Korean Spicy Pork

Korean spicy pork has a thick, spicy sauce that coats deliciously sauteed pork tenderloin. Served over rice and topped with some sesame seeds or green onions, this dish makes for a delicious meal.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: brown sugar, fresh garlic, garlic powder, gochujang, green onions, ground ginger, hoisin sauce, minced garlic, onion powder, pork tenderloin, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, white rice

Ingredients

Pork Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 pounds pork tenderloin
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Ingredients for serving

  • White rice
  • Sesame seeds
  • Green onion sliced

Instructions

  • Cut the pork into thin strips. Add the pork, along with sesame oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, and stir to coat the pork.
  • For sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl until everything is well mixed, and set it aside.
  • Add about one tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large skillet (or wok) and heat over medium-high heat.
  • Once the skillet is hot, saute the pork, in batches, making sure to sear all sides. (The proper internal temperature for cooked pork is 145 degrees.)
  • When the pork is cooked, reduce the heat to medium low, and add the sauce to the skillet, stirring regularly. Let it cook for a couple of minutes to start to thicken, and then add the pork, and stir to coat it with the sauce.
  • Continue cooking until the sauce is coating the pork and everything is heated through.
  • Serve over white rice and top with sesame seeds and/or sliced green onions.

This was spicy and full of flavor. If you’re not into the spice, substitute in some more hoisin or some barbecue sauce for the gochujang. And if you do like some heat and haven’t tried gochujang, I highly recommend it. It’s a chili paste, rather than a sauce.

Just be careful, while the sriracha shortage is apparently pretty well-known, I did learn that there was a gochujang shortage back in February, too, thanks to a popular recipe on the Netflix show “Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.”

It’s probably best to go ahead and get yourself a tub now before it’s too late.

This piece first appeared in print Oct. 1, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.