Pork Lettuce Wraps
These sweet and spicy pork lettuce wraps are perfect for those times when you want something quick but still healthy and delicious. They come together in about 20 minutes, simple to make, with just a few ingredients you can be enjoying these little treasures in no time at all.
If you like them super spicy you can amp up the heat with a little extra sriracha or even some red pepper flakes. It’s totally up to you. Now I am sure there are more complicated versions of Asian lettuce wraps out there, but this one is not that! It is so simple and that’s the beauty of it. With just a few pantry staples and some fresh ground pork and fresh crispy lettuce you can be enjoying these delicious little gems.
If you want to you can even add more veggies to your pork lettuce wraps. These have just carrots and green onions but you could also add water chestnuts for some crunch or whatever veggies you have and like. Just make sure to cut them small or julienne them.
This pork mixture is easy and flavorful, if you don’t have lettuce you could always put it on top of some noodles for a pork noodle bowl! Also, if you are not a fan or don’t have ground pork you can substitute any ground meat you like in this recipe.
What you need for Pork Lettuce Wraps:
- Lean ground pork: because you are adding a premade sauce the leaner the ground meat the better. You will have some grease after cooking these, which you can drain off if you like.
- Hoisin Sauce: Store bought Hoisin sauce is the main ingredient for the sauce. You can substitute with your favorite Asian sauce if you like.
- Sriracha: this is what provides that touch of heat, you can adjust to your liking
- Fresh ginger: A must have for Asian wraps
- Fresh Garlic: also a must have for depth of flavor.
- Fresh green onions: for color, taste and texture
- Fresh carrot: julienned for a perfect bite
- Toasted Sesame seeds: Optional but add a hint of flavor and texture
- Salt: just a pinch to bring out the flavor of the meat
- Extra Veggies: optional and completely up to you. Just make sure they are cut small and uniform
- Fresh, crisp Lettuce: I prefer to use Iceberg lettuce because of the shape and size of the leaves. Bibb and butter lettuce would also work well. Romain will work but is harder to roll in my opinion.
How to assemble your pork lettuce wraps:
Before getting started with the actual cooking, I recommend you prep your lettuce. If using iceberg lettuce, remove the core. The trick I learned many years ago is to smack the core on your counter pretty hard then just reach in and grab it out. It comes out perfectly without damaging the lettuce. Then rinse the head of lettuce under cold water (upside down) so the water goes in where the core came out. Then tip it right side up and let the water drain. Gently peel the leaves off one by one and set aside on a paper towel to continue draining and drying while you prep the other ingredients.
Sweet & Spicy Pork Lettuce wraps
Equipment
- 1 medium frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Canola Oil
- 1" piece fresh ginger, chopped
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 lb Fresh ground pork
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ⅓ cup Hoisin sauce (pllus more for serving if desired)
- 1-2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce 1 for less spicy 2 for more spicy
- 1 carrot julienned into matchsticks
- 2 med scallions (green onions), sliced diagonally
- 1 head lettuce, washed and leaves separated Iceburg, Boston or Romaine
- 1 Tbsp Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish Optional
Instructions
- In skillet over med heat add the 1 Tbsp Canola Oil.
- Once oil is hot add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant (stirring to prevent it from sticking)
- Add the 1 lb Fresh ground pork and break it up and season with 1 tsp kosher salt. Fry until no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Drain any excess grease.
- Add the Hoisin sauce and the Sriracha sauce and stir to coat the pork. Add half of the carrots and stir into the meat mixture.
- Spoon pork mixture onto serving platter and top with a few shredded carrots, green onions and sesame seeds.
- To enjoy, spoon a couple of heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto fresh lettuce leaves, top with extra carrots, onions, sesame seeds. Top with extra Hoisin and Sriracha if desired. Roll up and eat!
Tips and Tricks:
- Dipping Sauce: if you want some extra sauce on the side, whisk together some sweet chili sauce, and soy sauce in equal parts. Alternatively, just use more of the hoisin and sriracha combined.
- Extra Veggies: you can definitely add more vegetables if you like. Keep them uniform in size and shape to the julienned carrots. I recommend water chestnuts for crunch, onions, baby corn (sliced), mushrooms (chopped), and red peppers (for color and crunch). If you do add extra veggies just remember to cook them only slightly, you want that crunch in your lettuce wrap.
- For extra crunch you could add some chopped peanuts on top after you assemble your wraps.
- Sauces: If you don’t have or don’t like Hoisin you can substitute it with Oyster sauce or Teriyaki sauce then just add the sriracha to your liking.
If you are looking for more quick and easy ground meat recipes then try my beef quesadillas or Cheeseburger Rice they are family favorites.