For the month of July, I made a ton of lettuce wraps with a wide variety of proteins. These low carb dishes were relatively healthy and extremely delicious.
Pork Belly Wraps
I got a 3lb Kurobata Pork Belly from the butcher and marinated it with garlic, soy sauce, mirin. I wanted a nice beautiful crispy skin though, so I scored the skin, patted it dry, and sprinkled a generous amount of salt on the top. Left this pork belly in the fridge, skin side up without cover overnight. This allowed the skin to dry out, while the wet marinade kept the bottom of the belly nice and moist.
The next day I roasted the pork belly for 4 hours on low heat to get that beautiful soft meat essentially melting apart texture of pork belly. Crank the oven to broil on its highest temp for another 15 minutes after roasting to get a nice crispy skin on top.
Served this with garlic gochujang, a sweet soy wasabi, and a fried chili sauce.
Shrimp Wraps
With shrimp, I marinated shrimp in garlic and herbs and then cooked them in garlic butter. In addition, I created a fresh creamy avocado sauce to mix the shrimp in with. Limes added a little zest to the wrap.
Short Rib Wraps
With the short rib wraps, I got some beautiful short rib cuts, pan seared them, and then served them with lettuce, sweet cilantro sauce, and gochujang.
Wagyu Uni Wraps
With wagyu and uni, as long as you’re sourcing quality shit, the ingredients themselves should provide the majority of the flavor. Avoided any kind of sauces here and went for pairings of natural ingredients.
The seaweed wrap provided a delightful crunch while the shiso in the middle added a fresh fragrance not found with lettuce. The Uni and other roe provided a strong saltiness to pair beautifully with the wagyu. On some wraps I added a little marinated kombu on top for a stronger zesty flavor.
