Whole30 Samgyeopsal Recipe: Keto-Friendly Korean Grilled Pork Belly

Happy (much belated) New Year!

I’m starting 2017 with a healthy, flavorful recipe: samgyeopsal. This Korean dish is perfect for a weekday dinner since it requires minimal prep and most of the cooking happens right at the table.

To celebrate the new year, my best friend and I went to a Korean restaurant for all-you-can-eat samgyeopsal—grilled pork belly wrapped in lettuce and perilla leaves. The juicy pork belly and crisp vegetables were delicious, but a rowdy table of drunk men behind us made the evening so noisy we had to leave. I decided to recreate the experience at home, where it’s quiet and cozy.

The number of lettuce and perilla leaves you use depends on how much green you want in each bite. I used about 10 lettuce leaves and 5 perilla leaves. Perilla has a distinct, aromatic flavor that can be intense for some people, so I often use half a perilla leaf per wrap to balance it with the pork.

Pick whatever vegetables you like to add color and texture. For this version I chose kabocha squash, red bell peppers, garlic, and broccoli sprouts. Kimchi is fantastic in these wraps, but most store-bought kimchi contains sugar and isn’t compliant with the Whole30 I was following. If you’re not doing Whole30, definitely include kimchi for its tangy, spicy kick.

Heat a tabletop grill and arrange the pork and vegetables. If you don’t have a tabletop grill, a nonstick skillet on the stove works well. Because pork belly is fatty, the rendered fat prevents sticking, so you don’t need to add extra oil if your surface is nonstick.

Cook the pork belly and vegetables until they have nice grill marks and are cooked through. The pork should be nicely browned and juicy, while the vegetables should be tender-crisp.

Use kitchen shears to cut the thick strips of pork belly into bite-size pieces. This makes assembly easy and lets everyone grab a perfect mouthful.

Before wrapping, dip the pork pieces briefly in a small bowl of sesame oil mixed with a couple pinches of sea salt. Traditionally, samgyeopsal is served with ssamjang, a savory dipping sauce, but many commercial versions include soybean paste or sugar, which I avoided for my Whole30 adaptation.

To assemble each wrap, take a lettuce leaf and a perilla leaf, add one or two pieces of grilled pork belly and your choice of vegetables. Fold it up and enjoy. The combination of hot pork, crisp greens, and bright vegetables is simple and deeply satisfying.