If you want to re-invent your meatloaf, Korean meatloaf with gochujang glaze is a great way to do it. Think juicy pork, Korean spice and a ton of umami. There’s nothing not to like here.
This isn’t traditional Korean cooking. Not even close. It’s a Korean flavour freight train crashing into Americana. In a crazy, beautiful way.
Korean meatloaf takes a classic into delicious new territory
Maybe someday there will be an American style diner in Seoul. I can see it. It’ll be packed with trendy locals looking to try something new. And this Korean meatloaf will be the signature dish. Netflix will make a movie. Foodies will love it.
Or maybe a Korean food truck in Los Angeles will make this famous. It will make the morning show on all networks. OK – I don’t know. But I do know it’s hands down my favourite meatloaf recipe. Period.
Truth be told, I am not a big meatloaf fan. It is really hard to make a good meatloaf. At least for me. Too dry. Too dense. Or too bland. No sauce. Or sauce that doesn’t work.
I have tried a bunch. Never found one that really works. Until now. It took Korean meatloaf to make me a believer.
Gochujang glaze and mustard pickles
Gochujang is becoming one of my favourite ingredients. If you haven’t heard about it, think miso with chili. Not a ton of chili. Not super spicy at all. Just enough to wake things up. It’s worth seeking out.
The mustard pickled onions put it over the top. Don’t leave them out. It’s like horseradish with roast beef. That little touch of zing just wakes everything up. I had my doubts the first time I tried it. I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Just make the leap of faith. I did. And I’m glad I did. I missed including them in the pictures. Don’t read anything into that. This blog is about what I make for dinner. I was hungry. I forgot. Sorry…
Korean meatloaf with gochujang glaze. For when boring just doesn’t do it for you.
korean meatloaf with gochujang glaze
Ingredients
Korean meatloaf
- 2 lbs ground pork
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 large onion - finely diced
- 8 cloves garlic - crushed
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 5 green onions - minced
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs - lightly beaten to combine
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- sesame seeds to garnish if desired
Gochujang glaze
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F.
- Film a pan with the vegetable oil. Add the minced onions and cook slowly until translucent. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic to onions and cook another 2 minutes. Remove the onion mixture from the heat, transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool.
- Combine the cooled onion mixture with the minced green onion, gochujang, eggs and kosher salt. Stir to combine thoroughly.
- Put the ground pork and breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add the onion gochujang mixture and mix gently. You want it evenly red. You don't want it packed into a brick. A light hand is what you are looking for here.
- Transfer the meatloaf mix to a 9.5 inch by 5 inch loaf pan (or free form it on a cookie sheet - your call).
- Place the meatloaf in the oven. Cook until you get to an internal temperature of 140F, about 40 minutes. Pros use instant read thermometers. You should too.
- While the meatloaf cooks make the glaze. Combine all the ingredients and stir thoroughly.
- When the meatloaf reaches 140F remove it from the oven and spoon the glaze overtop evenly.
- Return the glazed meatloaf to the oven and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 160F. This takes somewhere around 10-15 minutes. Try not to overshoot. Overcooked meatloaf is dry meatloaf. Nobody likes that. Serve with mustard pickled onions.
Notes
Nutrition
mustard pickled onions
Ingredients
- 1 large white onion - thinly sliced. About 3 cups worth.
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup dry English mustard - Keens or Colemans
Instructions
- Soak the onion in cold water for 5 minutes. Drain well.
- Heat the rice wine vinegar and sugar over low heat, stirring regularly until the sugar has dissolved completely. No need to let it come to a boil. As soon as the sugar melts, you're done.
- Let the rice wine vinegar mixture cool. Then stir in the mustard.
- Toss the mixture with the onions. Let it stand 6-8 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Do not taste it immediately. Just don't do it. The mustard is hot. It mellows as it stands but at first it will blow a hole in the back of your head. Think about the last time you had too much wasabi. Same effect exactly.
Loved the meatloaf. Thank you. Next time I will make the mustard pickled onions. Do you use prepared or dry English mustard?
Glad you liked it! I mean dry English mustard. I’ve clarified in the recipe. Thank you for pointing that out.
A solid recipe, but a few things…
When I first looked at the recipe, I thought there’s no way the meat loaf would reach 140 degrees in 40 minutes. I was right. 20 more minutes and still under 120. I bumped the oven temp to 375. 15 minutes more it finally hit 140. Ten more minutes with the glaze on and I got to 160. So next time, I’ll start the loaf at 375. And yes, I know my oven temperature settings are accurate.
While the recipe doesn’t call for it, I also prepped the loaf pan with cooking spray. I also took the ground pork out of the fridge about an hour before blending it in with the other ingredients. That way the meat loaf didn’t go into the oven super-cold.
As a side dish, I made simple basmati rice steamed with broccoli. Unfortunately, because the recipe took waaaayyy longer than described, the broccoli was no longer crisp by the time the meat loaf was ready.
Lastly, is it just me, or does the picture suggest the loaf was sprinkled with sesame seeds afterwards??? There’s no reference to that in the recipe itself.
Glad you enjoyed it and sorry the timing didn’t work out for you. The timing does work for me. Perhaps it’s time for me to get my oven calibrated…
Yes, those are sesame seeds. I used those to make sure the camera caught focus correctly when I took the picture. I’ve added a reference to the recipe as an optional garnish.
Excellent but changed up a little. Made with 3lbs ground beef, added 1 3/4cups planko, 2 tbls Worcestershire, 3 tbls sweet chilli sauce, 3 tbls ChowChow relish, garlic, onion. This is my meatloaf recipe for ever.
Awesome! I love it when people tweak things to make the recipe their own. Chow chow is one I have never thought of but I like it!
This was wonderful!we will make again,followed recipe as is ,I don’t thick any change would make it better thanks.I did double glaze to serve with rice and made stir fried bock choy and salad.
Love your choice of sides!
I’d really like to try this. Out of interest, what do you serve it with ? rice? bread?
I hope you like it. Ultimately it’s meatloaf so you can treat it that way. I like it with a small green salad and a bit of crusty bread personally. It is also incredible sliced and served cold in a sandwich. Maybe with a little gochu mayo and some cilantro…