Korean Stir-fried Pork with Seaweed Stems

Two hundred twenty grams salted seaweed stems receive a 10-minute soak in cold water. One strand is tasted, and the batch is rinsed again if it remains too salty, then drained and cut into 5 cm lengths. One hundred eighty grams thinly sliced pork shoulder is coated with 0.5 tablespoon soy sauce and 0.5 tablespoon cooking wine for 5 minutes. The slices are spread without overlap in a pan heated thoroughly over medium-high and left undisturbed until some fat renders and the underside develops brown spots. The pork is turned before 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 80 g onion are added over high heat. Once the outer pink color disappears and the onion edges become translucent, the seaweed stems, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and remaining 0.5 tablespoon cooking wine go in. Two to 3 minutes of brisk tossing retains a firm bite in the stems while finishing the thickest pork piece. After the burner is switched off, the seasoning is checked before any extra soy sauce is considered. One teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds are folded through at the end. Tasting the soaked stems first makes their remaining salinity part of the seasoning decision instead of assuming every batch needs the same adjustment.