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Bon Appétit

Crispy Pork Lettuce Wraps With Spicy Cucumbers

4.7

(4)

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Gentl & Hyers

Ask your butcher for a square piece of pork belly: It’ll make for even slices and a good fat-to-meat ratio.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 Servings

Ingredients

1

12-ounce piece skin-on pork belly (about 4x3½x1¼ inches)

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2

tablespoons light brown sugar, divided

4

chiles de árbol

2

star anise pods

2

tablespoons soy sauce

2

Persian or kirby cucumbers, thinly sliced

2

scallions, thinly sliced

½

red chile (such as Fresno or jalapeño), thinly sliced

2

tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

3

tablespoons gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

3

tablespoons white miso

1

small head of lettuce (such as Little Gem or romaine hearts), torn

½

bunch mint

½

cup kimchi (optional)

Ingredient Info

Gochujang, a mixture of miso and hot chiles, is available at Korean markets and online.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Diagonally score fat side of pork belly, cutting through fat but stopping at flesh and spacing about ¼" apart. Season pork with salt and pepper and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let sit at least 2 hours, or chill up to 2 days.

    Step 2

    Preheat oven to 400°. Unwrap pork and place in the smallest baking dish you can. Add chiles de árbol, star anise, soy sauce, remaining 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, and 1¼ cups water. Roast until most of fat has rendered, meat is tender, and top is browned and crisp, 2–2½ hours.

    Step 3

    Meanwhile, toss cucumbers, scallions, red chile, and vinegar in a small bowl to combine. Mix gochujang and miso in another small bowl.

    Step 4

    Transfer pork to a cutting board; let rest 10 minutes. Pour off pan juices into a measuring glass. Skim fat from surface.

    Step 5

    Slice pork into ½" slices, transfer to a platter, and pour pan juices over. Serve with lettuce for wrapping and cucumber salad, mint, kimchi (if using), and gochujang-miso mixture for topping.

    Do Ahead: Pork can be cooked 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat before serving.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 1140 Fat (g) 92 Saturated Fat (g) 33 Cholesterol (mg) 120 Carbohydrates (g) 52 Dietary Fiber (g) 10 Total Sugars (g) 31 Protein (g) 29 Sodium (mg) 2620
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Reviews (4)

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  • The other comment about temperature control should be followed. I did, and it came out perfectly. I would think at 400 I'd be facing a burnt mess. Very delicious recipe though!

    • Anonymous

    • SF

    • 2/16/2023

  • Overall concept and final result were yummy. I did have some issues with my pork belly however. Alarm bells went off when I saw the instructions- 2 hours at 400 seemed way too hot! I was right and wish I had listened to my instinct. Top was already crispy at hour one, so I covered in foil. Another thing to be careful of- the brown sugar in the braising liquid cooked way to fast and turned into a burnt Carmel (as cooked sugar does!). Luckily it could scrape off and the meat was salvageable, but eeeeeekk burnt sugar is not good lol. I do recommend this recipe but keep a close eye on the pork belly and maybe add sugar only for last 20-30 minutes rather than in the beginning. Depending on oven I'd say turn down temp to 325 or so and crisp the top at 425 at the very end just until crispy. Also added rice noodles tossed in sesame oil, soy sauce, and black sesame seeds on the side. Goes superb as a side dish or even added to the lettuce cups themselves.

    • Madeline

    • San Francisco

    • 2/7/2022