Asian Lettuce Wraps (Vietnamese-style with crispy pork)
Flavour explosion! It doesn't get any better than these mouthwatering Vietnamese-inspired Asian lettuce wraps with chewy crispy ground pork!
Video
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 lemongrass (soft parts only, thinly sliced) (NOTE 1)
- 25gm / 0.9oz ginger (peeled, thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp peanut oil (or vegetable / canola oil)
- 500gm / 1.1lb pork mince (ground pork) (NOTE 2)
- 1 large red chilli (thinly sliced) (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (NOTE 4)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (NOTE 5)
- 3 tbsp (60gm / 2oz) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 150gm / 5oz cherry tomatoes (halved)
- ½ small red onion (thin wedges)
- ½ cup (15gm / 0.5oz) finely chopped coriander / cilantro
- ⅓ cup (10gm / 0.4oz) finely chopped mint leaves
TO SERVE
- 2 baby cos lettuce hearts (washed and pulled apart) (NOTE 6)
- ¼ cup chopped unsalted peanuts
- lemon wedges
- chilli, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the garlic, ginger, lemongrass in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass into a paste.
- Heat oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat, then add in the pork. Occasionally stir the pork and cook until most of it becomes crispy, this could take around 5 minutes.
- Push the pork to one side of the pan, and if it's too dry, add another tablespoon of oil to the other side. Add in the chopped garlic, ginger and lemongrass. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it becomes fragrant, making sure not to let it burn.
- Add in the chillies, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar, then stir-fry until the sugar dissolves. The pork should look darker and caramelised, this may take about 2 to 3 minutes. Have a taste and add salt or pepper to your liking if needed.
- Remove the pan from the heat, then add in the lime juice, tomatoes, onion, coriander and mint. Give it a good toss to combine. Have a taste and add more lime juice to your liking if needed.
- To serve the Asian Lettuce Wraps, let your guests serve themselves by placing the pork stir-fry in a bowl with a serving spoon. Arrange the lettuce beside the bowl and add small bowls of sliced chillies, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges. Best served warm or at room temperature, but doesn't reheat well.
Notes
(NOTE 1) Lemongrass. Trim 2cm / 0.8in from the root of the lemongrass and leave approximately 10 to 15cm of the stalk. Discard the remaining leafy part of the stem or save them for making stock. Remove 2 to 3 layers to uncover the soft, pale part of the stalk. Begin slicing into thin rings from the base until the stalk becomes too tough to cut through, then throw away the remaining stalk.
(NOTE 2) Pork mince (ground pork) - It's best to use non-lean pork. If you prefer lean pork, add an extra tablespoon of oil to avoid dryness. You could also swap pork for equal amounts of minced beef, lamb, chicken, or turkey. Vegetarians or vegans can substitute meat with crumbled firm tofu, refer to the top of this post for more information on how to do this.
(NOTE 3) Large red chillies - These Asian Lettuce cups are quite mild because of the large red chillies. If serving for children, you may wish to omit chillies completely. For added heat, swap for small red chilies like Thai or Bird's-eye chillies.
(NOTE 4) Light soy sauce or regular soy sauce are both fine, but dark or sweet soy sauces won't work since they're not interchangeable. Light soy sauce is a dark, savoury condiment commonly used in Asian cuisine. It has a rich, umami flavour and is often used as a seasoning or dipping sauce.
(NOTE 5) Fish sauce - My favourite brand is Thai 'Squid' fish sauce, but any brand of fish sauce would work. Fish sauce is pungent with an intense fish smell, but it adds a unique salty savoury flavour to dishes. Supermarkets usually stock their fish sauce in the International section or purchase a bottle at an Asian grocer.
(NOTE 6) Cos (Romaine) Lettuce. I used baby Cos lettuce hearts for their firm texture, making them perfect for picking up the filling. Iceberg lettuce or any mild-tasting crisp, firm lettuce also works well as wraps.
I've used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 WrapCalories: 191kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 10gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 276mgPotassium: 274mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 265IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg