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1
Combine the rice water and cold water in a pot large enough to submerge the pork fully, then add the doenjang, garlic, green onion, and ginger, stirring until the doenjang is fully dissolved with no dark clumps visible at the bottom of the pot — undissolved paste will concentrate in patches and mark the pork unevenly rather than seasoning it through. Lower the pork belly into the liquid, confirming it is submerged by at least 3 cm, and add cold water if needed. The pot is ready for the heat only when the liquid is uniformly dark and faintly cloudy throughout — sight test: no paste visible at the bottom.
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2
Bring the pot to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce immediately once slow, occasional bubbles tremble at the surface, so the pork cooks in a quiet, enveloping heat rather than a turbulent boil that would tighten the flesh and cloud the liquid with fat. A rolling boil must not develop at any point. Skim and discard all grey foam that rises during the first 10 minutes — correct state is a surface that shivers rather than churns, sound test: a low, intermittent murmur, not a sustained rolling sound.
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3
Simmer at this gentle rate for 40–50 minutes per 500 g of pork — approximately 80–100 minutes for a 1 kg piece — keeping well within 60 minutes per 500 g, because fat held in a hot liquid beyond that point loses its structure and begins dispersing into the water rather than remaining as a defined, sliceable layer. To test doneness, insert a skewer or thin knife into the thickest part of the meat; it should meet with minimal resistance and the emerging juices should run clear, not pink. Touch and sight test: the skewer enters cleanly with no resistance at the fat-muscle boundary.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Remove the pork from the liquid and rest it at room temperature for 20 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour, or until the piece is cold and firm throughout — pork sliced warm tears at the fat-muscle interface, destroying the layered cross-section that defines suyuk, while pork sliced cold holds every band intact. Do not skip or shorten the refrigerator stage. The piece is ready only when it feels uniformly firm under firm hand pressure — touch test: no give, no warmth felt through the surface.
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5
Place the cold pork belly on a cutting board and orient it so the alternating fat and muscle striations run lengthwise away from the knife, then slice across the grain — perpendicular to those striations — into rounds 3–4 mm thick, so each cut passes cleanly through every layer rather than splitting along the fat-muscle boundary. Each slice should display a clean cross-section of alternating fat and muscle with no tearing or separation at the interfaces. Sight test: defined, intact bands of white fat and pink muscle visible on every slice.
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6
Arrange the slices, slightly overlapping, on a serving plate. Set the saeujeot, kimchi, and ssam leaves alongside. The pork is served at cool room temperature — touch test on the finished slices: cool to the fingertip, not fridge-cold nor warm from the pot.