We didn't bother with lettuce wraps with this, simply served it with salad. It would also be good in tortillas. I could also see it in rice paper, fried or not.
I also had some ground beef that I mixed with the pork.
Ingredients
For the Pork
1 lb ground pork ideally 80/20 for a bit of fat and richness
4 cloves garlic minced
2 Thai bird’s eye chilies finely chopped (adjust for heat preference) OR jalapenos
1 shallot finely diced OR white onion
2 tablespoons neutral oil canola or vegetable
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar - I omitted
1 tablespoon water
1 cup Thai basil leaves packed (don’t sub with Italian basil—Thai basil brings that peppery, anise kick)
For the Wraps/salad
1 head butter lettuce or romaine leaves separated and washed
1 small cucumber julienned
1 large carrot shredded or julienned
Tomatoes
Red onion
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts optional but adds crunch
1 lime cut into wedges
Optional Add-Ins
Sriracha or chili garlic sauce for extra heat
Jasmine rice or vermicelli noodles if you want to bulk them up
Pickled Thai vegetables like carrots and daikon for tang
Cilantro
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Flavor Base
Start by heating oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped chilies, and shallots. Stir-fry quickly, about 30–45 seconds, until fragrant but not burned. This forms the base of that punchy, aromatic flavor that’s key in authentic thai recipes.
Step 2: Cook the Pork
Add the ground pork and use a spatula to break it up. Stir-fry for about 5–6 minutes, or until the pork is fully cooked and starting to get those delicious crispy bits.
Step 3: Add Sauces and Seasoning
Lower the heat slightly. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and a tablespoon of water. Stir to coat the pork evenly. Simmer for 1–2 minutes so the sauce thickens slightly and clings to the pork.
Step 4: Stir in Thai Basil
Turn off the heat and immediately add the Thai basil. Stir until the leaves wilt and become glossy. This last-minute addition preserves the herb’s bold, slightly spicy flavor. The pork should be glossy, rich, and deeply savory—a little sweet, a little salty, and full of heat.
Step 5: Assemble the Lettuce Wraps/salad
Place a spoonful or two of pork into each lettuce leaf. Top with julienned cucumber, shredded carrot, chopped peanuts, and a squeeze of lime. Add extra chili sauce if you like it fiery.
A friend suggested this from Costco. I made it from family visitors in July. I did the onions, broccolini and mushrooms in a separate pan. Then browned the meat in a wok.
We all loved it.
For John and I this would easily make 6-8 meals, depending on what else is served with it.
Bulgogi (/bʊlˈɡoʊɡi/ buul-GOH-ghee, UK also /ˈbʊlɡɒɡi/ BUUL-gog-ee, US also /ˈbuːlɡoʊɡi/ BOOL-goh-ghee;Korean: 불고기 [puɭɡoɡi], lit. 'fire meat') is a gui (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking.. Bulgogi is a very popular dish in South Korea, where it can be found anywhere from upscale restaurants to local supermarkets as pan-ready kits.
Bulgogi came from the Korean word bulgogi (불고기), consisting of bul ("fire") and gogi ("meat").
I cooked it again for John and I. This time I made it in one pan. I browned th before adding the meat. When serving, sprinkle it with scallions and white sesame seeds.
I thought about other variations, in any combination.
Bean sprouts, snow peas, bok choy ✅Aug 13 2025 Rice noodles
Lettuce wraps
Ramen noodles
Pho with beef broth, bean sprouts vegetables dumplings
Thai peppers Make a more juicy sauce with beef stock, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce
Rice wine, soy sauce, siracha Add teriyaki sauce Peppers mushrooms, bean sprouts Aug 27 2025 added onions with garlic, ginger and gochujang, served with cilantro and sesame seeds Crispy green beans Cilantro sprigs and matchstick carrots
Tacos with coleslaw, jalapeno
Fajitas sauteed peppers, onions, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, guacamole
Bowl with kale, spinach, cucumber, rice
Frozen Asian vegetables package
Serve with:
Kimchi
Pickled cucumbers, onions, radishes
Jicama
Dumplings
Egg rolls
Onion/scallion pancake
Furikake
Mango salad
Fried egg
August 25 2025
Costco isn't carrying it currently. I did find this in a Korean grocery store on Yonge.
I can't believe I haven't posted one of my favourite recipes from a cooking class I took a long time ago.
This is absolutely the best dipping sauce recipe ever!!
For the minced meat I always use ground pork. I don't usually put any wine in it, don't really see any need for it as it is moist enough.
Besides steaming you can also make potstickers. In fact, we do make potstickers with the leftover steamed ones.
Always buy the dumpling covers they are not worth the effort to make.
BUT if you need gluten free dumpling wrappers I have included a recipe below.
This is my modified rendition of the above.
PORK DUMPLING FILLING
1.5 cups cabbage finely chopped - sometimes I leave it out 1 tsp cornstarch 1 lb ground pork 2 tbsp ginger minced 2 tbsp garlic minced 1/4 cup green onions thinly sliced
5-7 Chinese dried mushrooms
Chinese Five Spice 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine 1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
Splash of chili oil 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp white pepper
Toss the cabbage with a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix well. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes, the squeeze out and drain as much of the extra water as possible. Mix together 2 tbsp water with the teaspoon of cornstarch and stir into the pork until it forms a paste. Mix in the ginger, garlic, green onions, mushrooms, 5 spice, soy, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, and squeezed out cabbage until incorporated.
Take a dumpling wrapper and place it on the palm of your hand. Place a tablespoon of filling into the centre of the wrapper - you want it to be full but not so much that it oozes out.
Brush a little water around the inside edges. Fold the wrapper over and pinch the edges together. Place the dumpling flat on the table with the pinched edges facing up, and flatten the bottom slightly. Now pinch a few pleats into the dumpling to create a pouch.
Set up your steamer and line the upper part of the steamer with parchment paper, and brush or spray the parchment paper with olive oil or vegetable oil. Place dumplings on the parchment paper about an inch apart from each other. Optional but helpful: Use a spray bottle to lightly mist the dumplings outer part or use a pastry brush and lightly brush each dumpling with water before steaming. Steam for 10 to 15 minutes to steam over medium or medium-high heat. Don’t let the water boil so hard that it splashes - just get it hot enough that it is releasing steam. Serve hot with dumpling sauce, fresh chili, or chili oil on the side.
GLUTEN FREE DUMPLING WRAPPERS Ingredients 5 ounces (1 cup) gluten free flour - I love gfJules flour About 6 tablespoons just-boiled water
Instructions Put the flour in a regular size food processor. With the machine running, and feed tube removed, add the water in a steady stream. Let the machine keep going after all the water has been added, until small pebbly bits have formed.
if the dough does not come together easily, add water by the teaspoon.
It should feel soft and stick together easily when pinched. Alternatively, make the dough by hand. Put a bowl atop a kitchen towel to prevent it from slipping while you work. Put the flour in the bowl and make a well in the center. Use a wooden spoon or bamboo rice paddle to stir the flour while adding the water in a steady stream. Aim to evenly moisten the flour. It is okay to pause to stir or add water. When all the water has been added, you will have lots of lumpy bits. Knead the dough in the bowl to bring all the lumps into one mass; if the dough does not come together easily, add water by the teaspoon. Regardless of mixing method, transfer the dough and all bits to a work surface. Gather and knead into a ball. Place the dough in a zip-top plastic bag and seal tightly closed, expelling excess air. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before using. Or, refrigerate overnight and return to room temperature before using.
Notes For the just-boiled water, half-fill a kettle or saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and after the bubbling action subsides, 30 to 90 seconds (depending on the heating vessel), pour the amount needed into a glass measuring cup and use for making the dough. This makes a buff-colored dumpling wrapper. For a gold color, add ¼ plus 1/8 teaspoon of ground turmeric to the flour before adding the water. Or, instead of water, use the berry-colored liquid from steaming beets. Juices like carrot or a green juice may introduce particulates, but you can try them out and see!
I'm always looking for alternatives to potatoes and rice. I love egg noodles but they aren't gluten free. We've been using rice or vermicelli noodles in pho soup for some time. We also used them in the virtual cooking class we took we took last month. They were in the spring rolls.
Note: Gochugaru can be found at PAT, Galleria and H-Mart, but any crushed and dried chili peppers can be substituted.
I used gochujang.
Gochujang or red chili paste is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment, popular in Korean cooking. It is made from chili powder, glutinous rice, meju (fermented soybean) powder, and salt.
Ingredients
Makes three full or five snack portions: 400g fresh egg noodles I use gluten free rice noodles 3 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp ginger, finely minced 1 scallion stalk, finely chopped 1 tsp coarse gochugaru chili pepper I used gochujang 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp hoisin sauce 1 tbsp sugar or stevia 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted 2 tbsp sesame oil 1/4 cup water malt vinegar (optional) rice vinegar as malt vinegar is not GF sriracha (optional)
Technique
1. In a small saucepan, heat the canola oil until smoking hot.
2. In a heatproof bowl, pour the hot oil over the ginger and scallions to bring out the aroma. Return saucepan to heat and set bowl aside.
3. Add sesame seeds to the saucepan and stir every few seconds until aromatic and lightly browned.
4. Transfer seeds to the bowl with the ginger and scallions. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir until smooth.
5. Meanwhile, cook the noodles per package instructions and drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of cooking water. Rice noodle method
6. Return noodles to the pot. Add sauce until the consistency is similar to alfredo pasta, adding some cooking water if necessary.
7. Garnish with more scallions and sesame seeds, and finish with a splash of malt vinegar and sriracha, if desired.
Sweet and Sour Sauce ½ cup honey 6 tablespoons rice vinegar 4 teaspoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons tomato paste
Added to sauce at end ** 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons water
Pork 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin cut into 1-inch cubes 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided ½ teaspoon black pepper divided ¾ cup all-purpose flour AP gluten free ⅓ cup cornstarch 2 large eggs 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 cup chopped white onions ¾-inch sized pieces 1 cup chopped red bell pepper ¾-inch sized pieces 1 cup chopped green bell pepper ¾-inch sized pieces 1 cup pineapple chunks ¾-inch sized pieces drained 2 tablespoons sliced green onion ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
In a medium-sized bowl combine sweet and sour sauce ingredients, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and tomato paste. Set aside. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water. Season pork with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a shallow dish mix together flour and ⅓ cup cornstarch. In a separate shallow dish add eggs and whisk. Batter each piece of pork by coating it with the flour mixture, then dip in the whisked egg, then a final coat in the flour mixture. In a wok or medium sized pan, heat 2 cups of oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil reaches 350°F (177°C), work in 2 to 3 batches, adding the battered pork and frying until golden brown and pork is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer pork to a sheet pan and drain on paper towels. Fry the next batch. Discard the oil from wok and carefully wipe the inside of the pan with paper towels to clean. Heat wok over medium-high heat and add in 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot add the garlic and onions, stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add in the red and green bell peppers, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in the pineapple and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in the pork and the sweet and sour sauce, stir to combine and allow the sauce to come to a boil. **Stir the cornstarch slurry and then add it to the pan, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, 60 seconds. Mix the ingredients with the sauce to coat the pork. Garnish the sweet and sour pork with green onions and sesame seeds and serve over rice.
And to something totally different! A Toronto coffee shop Niche is serving up a menu of these Freakshakes!
Saturday
The things I think about at 5AM.
Check the spices in the fridge - done. Remember last week I went to the Bulk Barn? I bought cardamom seeds, turns out I had not one, but two different packages in the fridge.
Filled up the other spices from my stash.
DVD movies - moved here five 5 cinco cinq V years ago and have never seen the light of day. Still outstanding
Travel books - too heavy to take with you. There are apps for that...
Or I print off info and then toss it as we go. Still outstanding
Electronics - printer, tablets, cell phones - still outstanding
Shredded more paper.
Baked an orange yogurt loaf. I thought I would freeze half but it was so good I never got a chance. Definitely a keeper!! BTW I used the no name gluten free flour from Bulk Barn and it worked like a charm.
Before I put the glaze on, straight out of the oven.
I made my first ever ice cream, coconut mango no churn. I had bought 3 mangos for $5 yesterday with another recipe in mind for company on Sunday.
I was a little icy, but that may be because there wasn't any cream in this recipe and I don't think the coconut milk was full fat.
BUT I think I have found an even better recipe from Gordon Ramsey!!!
I tired a new recipe (it's family, after all) P F Chang's Mongolian beef from Damn Delicious. It doesn't marinade the flank steak and I thought it needed it as it was a little tough for my liking. I also tripled the sauce amount as we like more sauce for the rice.
I served it with slivered snow peas, celery, scallions, carrots and cucumbers and made an Asian salad dressing. The recipe in the video above also looks very good as they add chopped mushrooms and top it with slivered radishes.
For dessert I made a coconut cheesecake adding some shredded coconut and omitting the *shudder* Cool Whip. I topped the servings with pureed mango mixed with lemon juice and honey and also chopped macadamia nuts.
Monday we headed out to Humber Nurseries to pick up some plants for our balcony. We decided to go with succulents as it gets quite warm out there.
We used to go to the nursery all the time when we lived in our house and gardened a lot.
There were some odd strange garden sculptures for sale.
This was rather cute, sorry about the price tag attached to her spectacles! Books and cats, certainly appeals to me.
This place is huge!
On our way back we made a stop. We saw these statues from the highway on our way to the nursery.
When we got back I set out to plant our plants. The nursery had a similar planter for sale at $119, I made two for about $100 including the soil and the pots.
I had bought a pomegranate (first time ever) with the intention of using the seeds to serve with the cheesecake but went with the mango instead.
I love the seeds and first had them in yogurt in Mexico.
Tuesday we puttered around home as it was a rainy dull day.
Lunch was gluten free hot dogs.
I decided to make a pot of chicken soup, the stock was from a frozen batch I had and then added vegetables and spices. I did it in the slow cooker, for no particular reason, here it is cooking on high after about an hour.
Dinner was leftover Mongolian beef and rice with salad, I did saute some mushrooms, snow peas and tomatoes in soy sauce, hot chili sauce and rice vinegar to serve with the meat.
Wednesday was a gloriously warm day. Finally!
For lunch I used the leftover carrots and potatoes to make cakes. I had come across a recipe for them to be served with a curry sauce. We didn't love the curry sauce, it definitely needed something to combat the slightly gritty curry.
John went to his weekly golf game and I went for a haircut and then went looking for two CONTACT photography exhibits. I found one, at Scotiabank, Nature is Calling, that I didn't really care for.
I realized I had never been in the Scotiabank street level, Old Banking Hall before!
This is the heart of the banking financial district, in the photo below you can see t he BMO sign reflected.
The only piece in the exhibit that I liked.
CIBC has this sign for Canada's 150th birthday coming up in July.
I didn't find the second exhibit, in the CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) building across the street. But I did come across a fascinating display of historic banking equipment in its lobby. I will have to go back with John as he will enjoy it.
I came home and replanted the herb garden I had bought last week into various pots for the balcony.
I made a mozzarella stuffed meatloaf with mashed potatoes, corn and Brussel sprouts for dinner. Not a bad recipe, but it needed more spices.
Thursday we were treated to lunch at Canoe, as it is one of our favourite restaurants. It is on the 54th floor of the TD building in the heart of the financial district.
The menu always reflects Canadian sourced items.
I had "braised tamarack lamb anchovied turnips, broccoli, spätzle + beurre noisett".
OK so I googled anchovied turnips when I came home as there was no flavour of anchovies.
Seems there are quite a few turnip recipes with anchovies.
John and our host had "b.c. halibut spring vegetable fricassée, taramasalata, charred romaine + crispy brandade fritters". Not sure where the taramasalata was however.
The lobby of the TD building had an interesting display.
Some photos as we walked around.
Dinner was leftover meatloaf after that exotic lunch.
Friday I met my BFF for lunch and a looooong chat!
John golfed.
Dinner was steak, baked potatoes and broccoli.
BOOKS
Reading has definitely taken a back burner the last couple of weeks to knitting and cooking show competition bingeing.
I thumbed (electronically) through a library book, A Beautiful Bowl of Soup this week. The title is from a Lewis Carroll poem: BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green, Waiting in a hot tureen! Who for such dainties would not stoop? Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup! Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
It seemed every recipe was a family favourite. It did leave me wanting to make a tomato soup and an onion soup.
I started reading Love May Fail and so far I am enjoying it.
DECLUTTERING
1 bag shredded paper - is there no end?
4 hand towels blue and green. They were looking tired and old.
John - t shirt and a pair of shorts
Some user manuals/brochures that can be found online
Plant pots
