Place the cubed pork in a large bowl. Pour the soy sauce and sesame oil over the cubes, toss to coat, then cover with a large plate or plastic wrap and let the meat marinate at room temperature for 1 hour (or marinate the meat in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours before starting).

Just before the pork is finished marinating, make the caramel. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, gently stir together the brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of water without sloshing onto the sides, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking without stirring, until the sugar-water turns dark amber, another couple of minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and halt the cooking by carefully adding a tablespoon or two of cold water (caution: the sauce will bubble aggressively upon addition of the cold water). Whisk gently, then set aside.

After the one-hour room marinade is complete, place a large, wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat. After a couple of minutes, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, use a slotted spoon to remove about one-third to one-half of the pork (depending on the size of your pan) from the marinade, letting any liquid drip back into the bowl (you’ll use it later), then place these pork cubes into the hot pan without crowding it. Wait a few minutes before moving the searing pork pieces, so the bottom side of the pork gains a deep brown color, then flip the pieces over and brown the tops, then repeat for the sides, so the pork cubes are fully browned on all sides. Set these browned pieces aside in a clean large bowl, then repeat with the remaining pieces. Depending on your pan size, this may take 2-4 batches, and up to 40 minutes. Be patient with this process, as it’s contributing a ton to the final flavor.

Once you are finishing browning the last batch of pork cubes, reduce the heat to medium-low. You can leave those last cubes in the pan or take them out for the next two minutes, it doesn’t matter.

Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is quite fragrant, about one minute. Add the grated ginger and cook for another minute, still stirring frequently. Add all the browned cubes of pork back into the Dutch oven, together with any juices that collected in the bowl, the reserved marinade, the caramel sauce*, the Sambal Oelek, and enough water to not-quite-cover the pork pieces (for me this was 1 ⅓ cups). Stir everything to combine, then bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the contents of the pot begin to boil, reduce the heat sufficiently to keep the liquid at a constant gentle simmer. Continue cooking for about 1 hour, or until the pork is tender.

About 30-45 minutes into cooking, taste the sauce and adjust for seasoning if necessary. Depending on your preferences, add more soy sauce (for additional salt), chile sauce (for heat), or a little brown sugar (for sweetness).

Just before the pork is finished, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, add the oil, then add the bok choy and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until it becomes browned and slightly softened. Season with a dash of salt and set aside.

If making rice specifically for this dish, start the brown rice at about the same time the pork+sauce begins to simmer, or start white rice about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Start frying the eggs at the same time (if you have multiple large frying pans) as you fry the bok choy, otherwise fry the eggs after you’ve browned the bok choy.

Divide the rice between four deep bowls. Top each bowl of rice with about ½ cup (a generous ladleful) of the cubed pork and its rice sauce, followed by 2 of the fried eggs and a quarter of the bok choy. Garnish with cilantro (if desired) and serve immediately.