Korean Style Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps
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Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients: 1 pound Stryker Farm pork belly, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 1/2 cup gochujang (Korean red chile paste) 1/2 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup sesame oil 1 ½ TSP minced ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 mild chile peppers, such as red finger or shishito, thinly sliced Boston lettuce leaves, for serving White rice, for serving Sesame seeds, for garnish Bean Sprout Salad: ½ LB soya bean sprouts, with beans attached 1 large carrot julienned 1/4 cup sesame oil 2 TBSP fish sauce 1 TBSP gochugaru (Korean red chile pepper flakes) 1 TBSP rice vinegar 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 scallions, chopped |
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Gochujang is a special Korean marinade made from chilis and fermented soybean. The unique flavor pairs perfectly with the fatty pork belly. These wraps are spicy, tangy and sweet!
Instructions:
These wraps are a far cry from the stability of a taco shell, but for what they lack in structure they surely make up for in flavor!
Instructions:
- Prep the marinade. In a large bowl whisk together the pineapple juice, honey, sesame oil, minced ginger and garlic.
- Unpackage the pork belly. This particular cut is like a meat and fat layer cake. The striations make slicing it a bit tricky. For more manageable cutting, stick the pork belly in the freezer for half an hour. This allows the knife to easily slide through the meat. Slice the meat into ¼ inch slices.
- Place the slices in the marinade for 6 hours or more.
- When the meat is finished marinating begin the bean sprout salad and white rice.
- Prepare about a cup of white rice for serving using your preferred rice cooking method.
- Boil a pot of water. Add the bean sprouts to cook to al dente; about a minute, they don’t need much.
- Drain them and let them cool down.
- Chop up scallions and garlic. Add them to a bowl with the drained sprouts.
- Julienne a large carrot, or use a handy ribbon making tool. The goal is to get super thin pieces. They’ll add a crunch to the salad, but will have soaked up the liquids.
- Add the vinegar, fish sauce, pepper flakes (easily substituted with sriracha). Toss everything with a pairs of tongs. Let the flavors marinate while you tend to the rice and cook the pork belly.
- Get a wok nice and hot. Add some sesame oil and carefully using tongs, transfer the marinated pork belly to the pan. Keep the pieces moving in the wok, and toss them short quick handle jerks.
- Cook for about 5 minutes. The pieces should look a bit curled and the fatty portions should be firm to the touch.
- Transfer them to a cutting board and allow them to cool. Then chop them against the meat/fat striations, into bite sized pieces.
- At this time you could return them to the wok for additional cook time for crispier pieces.
- When the pork belly is finished it’s time to assemble the lettuce leaves. Top with a spoonful of rice, pork belly, bean sprout salad, and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced peppers.
These wraps are a far cry from the stability of a taco shell, but for what they lack in structure they surely make up for in flavor!
