Oven-Baked Korean-Style Lean Pork Rice Bowl

Before you begin...

This recipe takes around 5 min [10 min] to prep, so get your casserole dish and all your ingredients ready, then wash your fruit and veg

Note: Make sure your dish is oven-proof and safe to use on the hob. Don't have one? Start cooking in a large, wide-based pan then transfer to an oven-proof dish and cover tightly with foil

Now, let's get started!

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil half a kettle

Heat a large, wide-based, hob-safe oven-proof casserole dish with a matching lid with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, add the lean pork mince (remove the paper if required!) to the dish and cook for 1-2 min or until lightly browned

Whilst the mince is browning, deseed the pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and cut into chunks

Crush the garlic cloves open by squashing them with the side of a knife and remove the skins

Add the crushed garlic and chopped pepper to the dish with 150ml [250ml] boiled water

Add the soy sauce, mirin, chicken stock mix and 3/4 of the gochujang paste (can't handle the heat? Go easy!), then stir it all together and bring to the boil over a high heat

Cover with a lid and put it in the oven for 20 min or until the pork is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your Korean-style lean pork

Add the sushi rice to an oven-proof dish with a pinch of salt and 250ml [500ml] boiled water

Cover tightly with tin foil and put the dish in the oven for 25 min or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked – this is your sticky rice

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, then slice finely

Add the chopped cucumber to a bowl with the rice vinegar, mayo and the remaining gochujang paste (not a fan of spice? Just add a little!) and give everything a good mix up – this is your gochujang cucumber

Once cooked, remove the Korean-style lean pork from the oven and leave it to cool (lid on) for 4-5 min (this helps the flavours to develop), then give everything a good mix up