Hoisin Pork and Veggie Wraps

If you haven't been yet, the Root Cellar at Blenkinsop and McKenzie (formerly Big Barn Market) is so wonderful. Check their website for their "dirt cheap this week" list. Though they still import some items, they carry things lots of other grocery stores don't: heritage veggies, local meat, local eggs. etc. and often are cheaper or comparably priced to other grocery stores, as well as local staples like Portofino bakery bread. Yum!

For this recipe we used one pound of Fraser Valley Two Rivers ground pork (very similarly prices to lean ground beef), one medium red onion or half of one large red onion, red field peppers, cilantro (I love cilantro. If you hate it, sub red or green leaf lettuce), cucumber, rice, ginger, chinese five spice (get it in the asian food section) hoisin sauce (make sure you read the ingredients and get one that is MSG free, please), rice vinegar, salt, sugar, siracha and some flat bread/wraps.

Start by stripping your cilantro leaves from the stalks, washing them and setting them aside. Chop your red onion and set aside.

Thinly slice your cucumber and red pepper and place them in a bowl with 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, 1/4 tsp of salt and a 1/4 tsp of sugar. Mix them well and let them sit while you prep the rest.

I used basmati rice, but you can use whatever kind you like, brown basmati would be equally delicious and more nutritious.

Start cooking your rice, but add 1 tbsp of Five Spice to the water. My rice took 20 minutes.

Never used five spice before? It's delicious and really adds something to the meal. It's a combination of cassia (chinese cinnamon), star anise, fennel, clove and ginger. So good.

Start browning your pork. Add 1 tsp of Five Spice and a teaspoon of ginger (powdered...if you have fresh, rock it). Break up the pork with your spoon and stir occasionally until almost cooked. Add your red onion and cook until onion is tender and your pork is cooked through.

At this point, I removed some of the pork from the pan and some of the rice and mixed it together for Stanley. Babies don't need the sugar of hoisin sauce and he was pumped on the chinese five spice.

Add 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce and 1 tsp of siracha sauce. Stir.

GOOD JOB!

Now, assemble your ingredients on your wrap and fold it up like a burrito.

Ta da! If you try it, let me know what you think.