This post is sponsored by Smithfield. All comments and opinions are my own.

Ever get a taste for something and just have to have it? It happens to me all the time. I am usually thinking about dinner or creating a menu and I think about food and all of the sudden get a hankering that I can’t shake. For a few weeks now, I have been craving bulgogi.

Now, my all time favorite bulgogi is not found at a restaurant and it’s not a recipe that I make. I have a friend who makes the most amazing bulgogi and serves it with her homemade kimchi. Seriously, it’s so good, that my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Since I had been craving it, I decided to see if Charlotte would give me her kimchi family recipe and let me try my hand and making it myself. Well, she gave me the recipe and it was way out of my league! While it wouldn’t be too hard to make, it was very time consuming, And, finding the right ingredients was going to take a bit more effort than I could manage with my crazy schedule. So, I decided to improvise and whip up a weeknight version of a pork bulgogi with kimchi. I decided to call it Asian Pork Lettuce Cups and boy oh boy, it was a HUGE, HUGE hit with my guys. I made it last week and there was not one little morsel of food left at the end of our meal. For a minute, I thought my guys would give me a standing ovation. Ok…maybe a bit dramatic, but they did compliment and praise the meal more than usual–tee tee!

While Charlotte’s recipe takes several days to make, mine is ready in no time flat. Charlotte marinates her bulgogi overnight and her kimchi has many steps AND has to be allowed to ferment in the refrigerator for several days. My recipe can be made in under 30 minutes with very little effort.

I decided to go with Smithfield Marinated Pork for this recipe so that all I have to do is open the pork chops and toss them on the grill. The meat is already marinated so I don’t need a bunch of extra ingredients. It’s already packed with great flavor right from the package!

Then, I whipped up a fabulous sauce, steamed some rice and popped open a jar of refrigerated kimchi that I found in the produce section at Publix—voila…dinner in a flash!

This is definitely a recipe that you can make. It’s super simple but has huge flavor. The sweetness in the Smithfield Hickory Smoked Brown Sugar Pork Chops pairs perfectly with the Asian sauce. Plus since this one is served in lettuce cups, it’s pretty low in calories as well, provided you keep your rice portion fairly reasonable.

Stop by Publix and grab a few ingredients and add it to your menu this week.

Asian Pork Lettuce Cups

Author: Michelle

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 package Smithfield Hickory Smoked Brown Sugar Pork Chops
2 tablespoons gochujang sauce
 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
 1 tablespoons soy sauce
 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 cloves ginger, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon gochugaru, Korean red pepper powder flakes (substitute ground red chili flakes if needed)
 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 cups cooked white rice
Prepared kimchi
1 cup matchstick carrots
Butter lettuce leaves (or iceberg)

Instructions

Make the Asian sauce by whisking together the gochujang sauce, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds and gochugaru. Set aside.
Grill the Smithfield Hickory Smoked Brown Sugar Pork Chops according to package instructions.
Allow the meat to rest for 3 – 5 minutes and cut into very thin slices.
Fill each lettuce cup with a little rice, some of the grilled pork, carrots, kimchi and drizzle with a little sauce.

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