LUNCH! Week 7: Rice + Pork + Kimchi

Let’s do LUNCH!. With chapters built around three main ingredients, the LUNCH! cookbook demonstrates how to make 10 weeks of exciting lunches (50 recipes in all) with fresh ingredients and healthy variety.

Monday Rice Bowl with Pork Radicchio Cups
Tuesday Nori Rolls with Avocado and Sprouts
Wednesday Nori Rolls with Pork and Spicy Mayo
Thursday Nori Rolls with Mushrooms and Kimchi
Friday Kimchi Udon with an Egg

Bursting with Asian flavors and textures, this week’s menu is here to shake up the lunch routine. On Monday, start the week with intensely savory pork lettuce cups made creamy by sliced avocado. For the next few days, you’ll be making nori rolls—Japanese-style hand rolls wrapped in nori seaweed sheets. Tuesday’s lunch is a fresh and crisp veggie-filled version, followed by a spicy pork-filled version on Wednesday. On Thursday, it’s an umami mushroom-and-sprout-filled roll, while Friday’s kimchi noodles are an excellent way to celebrate the end of the work week. The best part? They keep beautifully if they’re made the night before. If you’re not so familiar with kimchi, that’s okay! This recipe is a really good primer on the funky fermented Korean condiment. Not only does the stuff taste amazing, but it’s also packed with gut-healthy probiotics. Go ahead and eat the rest right out of the jar!

Grocery List

Pantry

1½ cups white rice (jasmine or short grain)
3 ounces udon noodles or spaghetti (dry or frozen)
Avocado oil
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ cup soy sauce, plus 6 takeout soy sauce packets
1 tablespoon tahini
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 ounce (about 1 cup) dehydrated
shiitake mushrooms
½ cup roasted salted peanuts
¼ cup sesame seeds
7 sheets nori seaweed
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Sriracha
¼ cup hemp seeds
1 (16-ounce) jar kimchi

Produce

2 garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper
1 lime
1 bunch chives
1 bunch cilantro
1 pound broccoli
2 avocados
3 carrots (or 1½ cups preshredded carrots)
1 head radicchio
1½ cups sprouts or microgreens
1 (5-ounce) container baby salad greens (arugula, kale, or similar)
1 Persian cucumber

Dairy

1 tablespoon butter
1 egg

Meat

1 pound ground pork