Korean Lettuce Wraps

Korean Lettuce Wraps are perfect packages of seasoned meat, rice and a zingy dipping sauce. In this recipe, we take thinly-sliced strips of pork tenderloin, marinate them in our Korean BBQ blend and quickly sear them on the stove. Then, we roll the pork inside a crisp, cold lettuce leaf with jasmine rice and fresh cilantro, and serve with dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

For the Pork:

1 lb pork tenderloin

1 oz Korean BBQ Blend

Salt

Key Lime Avocado Oil

White and Black Sesame Seeds

Butter or iceberg lettuce

Cooked Jasmine rice

Fresh cilantro for garnish

Korean Dipping Sauce:

2 Tbl Green Apple Balsamic

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp Gochugaru

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 Tbl water

1 tsp corn starch

1/4 cup finely sliced green onions

Salt to taste

Directions:

For the Lettuce Wraps:

Wrap the pork tenderloin in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and slice into thin slices. Sprinkle the slices lightly with salt then rub with the Korean BBQ blend, pressing so that the rub adheres to the pork. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat and drizzle 1 Tablespoon of the Key Lime Avocado Oil. Working in batches in order to not overcrowd the pan, sear the slices of pork tenderloin in batches until cooked through -- about 4-5 minutes. Between batches, you may need to wipe out the pan with a paper towel in case any of the bits from the blend begin to burn.

Place a spoonful of rice in a lettuce leaf and top with the pork. Serve with soy sauce and Sriracha or with the dipping sauce (recipe follows).

For the Korean Dipping Sauce:

In a saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients and bring to a simmer. In a separate bowl, make a slurry from the water and corn starch and drizzle into the saucepan, stirring constantly. Bring back up to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and whisk in the green onions. Cool and serve with the lettuce wraps. Store any unused sauce in the refrigerator and use within 1 week.