Monday night, 6pm. Everybody hungry. Thawed package of ground pork in the fridge—mostly because we needed room in the freezer over the weekend, not that we had an actual plan for it. Ah ha! Time for Thai pork salad! Not an ideal seasonal match, but how seasonal is 5 inches of fresh powder on St. Patrick’s Day?
I adapted this recipe from “Thai Ground Pork Salad”, a Food and Wine favorite from Tom Mylan. Thinking my 8 yo would never touch it (ground pork flecked with cilantro, basil, mint, jalapeños, doused with fish sauce and wrapped in lettuce???), I supplemented the table with some suitably plain leftovers. To my great surprise, the Thai pork vanished before the leftovers were even considered—a family dinner touchdown! And it’s always the right season for that.
Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps
adapted from "Thai Ground Pork Salad" by Tom Mylan in Food and Wine magazine
Ingredients
Pork
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and finely diced
- 1 clove garlic minced and mashed with a pinch of salt
Lettuce cups
- 8 lettuce leaves butter lettuce (or green or red leaf) left whole for wrapping
Dressing
- 1 lime, juice from
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (Tiparos or Red Boat)
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp sriracha chile sauce
Fresh herbs
- ½ cup basil leaves chopped
- ½ cup mint leaves chopped
- ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
For serving: additional jalapeño slices, lime wedges, and sriracha
Instructions
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Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground pork, jalapeño, and garlic and cook until pork is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off fat and transfer cooked meat to a serving bowl.
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Rinse the lettuce, spin dry, gently wrap in a clean kitchen towel, and stash in the refrigerator while you mix the sauce and finishing cooking. This will help the lettuce be crisp and delicious.
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In glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and sriracha. Drizzle over the browned pork, stir to mix, and let stand 5 minutes.
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Add the herbs to the pork. Serve with lettuce leaves and pass jalapeño slices, lime wedges, and sriracha.
