Recipe of the week: Korean spicy pork meatballs

In Korea, when cooks want heat in a dish, they typically turn to gochujang, said TastingTable.com. Seattle chef Rachel Yang uses this fiery but nuanced chili paste in everything from vinaigrette to a mayonnaise dipping sauce for French fries. Yang finds that its slight sweetness—which comes from fermented rice—makes gochujang a great complement to meat, as in these no-nonsense meatballs.

Korean spicy pork meatballs

Yield: About 14

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• 1 lb ground pork
• 5 scallions, finely chopped
• ¼ cup gochujang
• ¼ cup mirin
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together pork, scallions, gochujang, mirin, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger until combined (mixture will be very wet). Use your hands to roll mixture into 1½-inch meatballs.

In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, add oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meatballs. (Cook them in batches if necessary). Cook the meatballs until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn them over and brown the other side, 2 to 3 minutes longer, and then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Place the meatballs in the oven and bake until they resist light pressure and are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a paper towel to drain. Serve hot.

(Recipe adapted from chef Rachel Yang of Seattle’s Joule)