Pork Larb Lettuce Wraps

I've been cooking a lot this past week which means its been relieving my stress...I saw this Thai recipe and thought it looked easy and delicious, so that's what was for dinner tonight.  It was so hot out today, I couldn't think of eating heavy food.  I make lettuce wraps often.  I have a "goto" recipe that I pretty much always use and will post next time I make it. One thing I always use and insist is a MUST for the wraps is "butter lettuce".

Iceberg and Romaine will just not do!  Trust me on that.  What I do is cut the living root off, separate the leaves, put them in a colander and rinse and let it sit and dry while you cook.

I got the Asian ingredients at my Korean market which is right across the street from my office so is very handy for that, though it can be a lot pricier than T&T market, depending on what you buy.

I used all the ingredients and followed the recipe though I doubled the amounts (except for those red chilies!).  I like leftovers, especially lettuce wraps.  I started by slicing the onion.

I put it in some cold water and rice vinegar to take the bite out.  I covered it in saran and left it in the fridge until needed.

I've never heard about toasting rice and grinding it before, but I have spice grinder so I went ahead and did it.

Next I went about slicing the red chilies.  I did them as thin as I possibly could.  I needed one for the pork mixture and one each for the two dipping sauces so I separated them.

I got the herbs done next.  I used lots as I personally think that fresh herbs can make almost any dish a standout success.  I can't imagine cooking without them.

Thai basil is soooo divine - I couldn't fathom "pho" without it.  And, of course, cilantro is my favourite herb!  I didn't tear these, I sliced them chiffonade style and put them in a bowl with the chili.

As I got to this stage, I take back what I said about this dish being "easy"...there is lots of prep work - even though when I read it, I didn't think so.  Anyway, there always is with lettuce wraps.  :) So, I decided to finish making the dipping sauces next.  With a chili in each dish, I squeezed in half a lime, a tablespoon of Red Boat fish sauce, about a half teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of water.

Woo-Wee, this had a nice kick to it.  It was nicely balanced though and each flavour equal.  I liked it a lot.

Finally, I did the pork.  I minced my garlic  (6 cloves) through a press.  I sauteed it for a couple of minutes in avocado oil until lightly brown.  I added the pork and sugar and stirred until cooked.  Lastly, I put in fish sauce and freshly cracked pepper.  I omitted the salt that the recipe called for as fish sauce is ridiculously salty.

The herbs & chili and drained onions went in.  I mixed again.  I put in serving bowls and topped with the toasted rice powder.  I served with a slice of lime too.

The rice powder gave a LOT of crunch which was interesting and surprising to me.  I maybe could have ground it up a little finer but it was okay.  I think some ground nuts would have been easier and the same.  The heat was there but in no way too spicy.  However, if you got a mouthful of the seeds and/or red strips which I did a couple of times, it cranked it up waaaay higher .

We quite enjoyed this and got all the balanced elements of tart/sweet/spicy/salty.   The mint was surprisingly good too.  It was a nice change from my "usual".   I will make this again and skip the step of making the "rice powder" next time.