Have I ever mentioned how much I love Korean Food. Oh this recipe has so many of my favourite things in it
Spicy Gochujang Sauce
Pickled Veggies
Perfectly cooked Pork Shoulder
Freshness
Spiciness
Spicy Korean Pork Lettuce wraps oh how I adore you
I could eat this everyday and be a very happy person. It is no secret I love Asian food I feel like I tend to cook that more than any other cuisine. And there are so many options. Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese even Indian. Although, I just consider India its own place it’s hard to consider it in Asia for some reason. A completely different vibe but in a good way
One major thing that I think draws me to Asian food so much is that you can make soooooooooooooooooo many things Spicy. Another thing that is no secret about me. Its true what they say when you are used to things that are spicy it becomes like salt, without it it just doesn’t taste the same. I have on occasion pushed my boundaries on just how spicy I can handle something and it mainly involves my Thai chilli peppers I have growing in the backyard and also some intense habanero sauces I have made. Whenever I have company over for dinner I always make myself a separate child sauce an make sure everyone is very aware of the fact
Living in a Dutch island in the Caribbean I learnt very quickly that dutch people in general are not exactly into the spicy side of food. Anywhere I went and asked for hot sauce they would proceed to give me tabasco (which I enjoy but for certain items … aka Caesars, the equivalent of an American Bloody Mary) or sweet chilli sauce. Not exactly spicy
My boyfriend makes fun of me because when we go to certain restaurants I bring a bottle of hot sauce with me in my purse or a couple child peppers from my plant. Can’t help it I love the spice.
I like sriracha on my popcorn and I couldn’t find my small bottle so we went to the movies and when we sat down I pulled out this HUGE bottle of Sirracha and proceeded to pour it on my popcorn. Not the small, not the medium sized one … the LARGE one. The look on my boyfriends face was priceless. I don’t think we stopped laughing for at least a couple minutes. In hind site it was a little over the top and I am sure that if anyone else saw they would have been confused rightfully so. People sneak in Candy, I sneak in hot sauce. Its all relative
You may have noticed that there is no Kimchi in this recipe on either the wrap or the side but this is only because of one reason and one reason only ….
I hadn’t had any made at the time!!!!
The dutch island I live on isn’t exactly swimming in Kimchi or Korean Food so whenever I feel like It I have to make it myself. Or when I go home and can stock up on my Asian ingredients from TnT market. Btw if you haven’t been before and you are in Vancouver or Toronto I highly recommend going. Usually when I do make Kimchi it seems to disappear. Between Rob and I munching it back and giving jars away to my friends its usually less than a week. Speaking of which I have a jar that has been sitting in my fridge for about 4 months now (I have been away for 3) I wonder what that is going to be like when I get back. Hopefully still good and I can make some Kimchi Jiggae with it. Yum!
If you happen to want to try out some homemade Kimchi for yourself I have a great recipe here for you to try
If you haven’t had Gochujang before, there are different levels of spiciness and it ranges from quite mild to very spicy so just be sure to look for that when you buy some
Crispy lettuce, spicy gochujang sauce, quick pickled veggies and super moist pork and equals perfect little bites of deliciousness
Spicy Korean Pork Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Pork And Marinade
- 2 Pork Shoulder Steaks 3/4 inch thick
- 4 Tbl Gochujang
- 4 Tbl Doenjang (Fermented Korean Soy Bean Paste)
- 1 Tbl. Sesame Oil
- 2 Tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbl Sake
- 1 Tbl Sesame Seeds
- 1 Clove Garlic, Pureed
- 2 Tbl. Water
Pickled Carrots
- 1 Cup Julienned Carrots
- 3 Tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbl. White Vinegar
- 2 Tbl Water
- Pinch of Salt
Pickled Radish
- 1 Cup Sliced Radish
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tbl Sugar, White
Toppings
- 1 Lettuce Cups (I used baby Gem)
- Cucumber Slices
- Sesame Seeds
- Sprouts
- Jalepeno Slices
- Lime Wedges
- Kimchi
- Reserved Gochujang Marinade
Instructions
- For the pickled radishes, Boil the water, vinegar and sugar mixture then pour over the radish. Let sit until cool
- For the carrots, Combine all ingredients and let sit until slightly pickled but still crunchy, tossing occasionally
- To make the marinade, Mix all ingredients in a bowl besides the pork. It will be thick at first but smooth out. Add a little more water if mixture is too thick. Use half of the marinade on the pork steaks and leave to marinate for a few hours or overnight if you have the time. Use the remaining marinade for the wraps
- Take the pork out 15 minutes before you want to cook it to bring it to room temperature. Bring your BBQ up to a medium-hot temperature and grill for 8 minutes or until medium rare flipping occasionally. The marinade has a bit of sugar in it so be careful of flare ups
- Slice the pork into thin strips to fit into any size lettuce you use
- To assemble the lettuce wraps, add a few slices of pork to each wrap and mix and match with as many or as little toppings as you like.
- Serve with a nice beer and maybe some Korean Soju
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