Pork Lettuce Wraps

Why this is the best pork lettuce wraps recipe

• Simple, yet flavorful: These pork lettuce wraps are made with just a few ingredients, but all of them add up to big flavors!
• Made with Asian pantry staples: Pantry ingredients like rice vinegar, soy sauce, and fish sauce make up the bulk of our seasonings for both the ground pork and the quick pickled carrots with vinegar sauce that go on top.
• Make them as mild or spicy as you like: This pork lettuce wraps recipe doesn't have anything spicy included in the cooking process, so you can add chili peppers, sriracha sauce or chili oil when you serve them. If you happen to be feeding a spice-loving crowd, you can definitely add chilis to the ground pork mixture as it cooks.
• Quick weeknight recipe: On a busy weeknight, you can get these on the table in less than 30 minutes! All you have to do is grate a few things and whisk up a sauce. The pork cooks in about 10 minutes!

Ingredients you'll need

• Ground pork: Make sure you're getting ground pork, not ground pork sausage. We don't want any flavorings added, because we'll add our own as it cooks.
• Soy sauce: Dark, salty soy sauce gives us that distinctive Asian flavor.
• Fish sauce: Fish sauce adds umami, and brings a Vietnamese influence to the recipe. If you don't have any or can't find it, you can substitute more soy sauce 1:1, but I highly recommend investing in this versatile ingredient. It lasts a REALLY long time in the refrigerator so you don't have to worry if you don't use it often.
• Unseasoned ice vinegar: I LOVE rice vinegar! It has such a unique flavor and is an essential ingredient in Asian recipes. We want unseasoned rice vinegar. (Seasoned has sugar and salt added to it. We are going to do that ourselves so it will be seasoned perfectly for this recipe.)
• Water: We'll dilute the cooking liquid with water. As it evaporates, it ensures even cooking, keeps the marinade from over-concentrating and burning, and keeps the pork from drying out.
• Sesame oil: We just need a bit to add flavor and aroma. The pork has enough fat in it without adding a whole lot of extra oil.
• Garlic and ginger: We'll grate both of them so the flavors will permeate the cooking liquid and you won't be biting down on big hunks of either one.
• Boston bibb lettuce: This is my favorite lettuce to use for lettuce wraps of any kind, pork included. See more information about what kind of lettuce is best to use below.
• Carrots: We'll grate some carrots and quickly pickle them in rice vinegar. The sweetness of the carrots and the vinegar will balance the salty flavors of the ground pork.
• Sugar: Plain old white sugar goes into the carrots and into the marinade for the pork.
• Kosher salt: We only need this for the carrots. The sauce for cooking the ground pork already has plenty of saltiness from the soy sauce and fish sauce.
• Cilantro, chili peppers, scallions, sriracha sauce: Optional toppings. Choose the ones you like!

How to make pork lettuce wraps

Step 1: Prepare the lettuce cups

Gently remove the lettuce leaves one at a time from their core, being careful not to tear them. Rinse with cold water and drain, then lay in a single layer to dry on a kitchen towel.

Step 2: Make the carrots with vinegar sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup of rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt.

Grate ¾ cup of carrots on the large holes of a box grater, add them to the vinegar mixture and set aside at room temperature.

PREP TIP This quick pickling method requires that you leave it out at room temperature, don't put it in the refrigerator. Because the grated carrots are so small, they will take on the flavors of the rice vinegar quickly.

Step 3: Grate the ginger and garlic

Use a microplane grater to grate the ginger and garlic.

PREP TIP You don't need to peel the ginger! Because it will be grated so finely, and because we are cooking it with the pork, you won't even notice it's there.

Step 4: Make the sauce for the pork

Whisk together the soy sauce, fish sauce, grated garlic and ginger, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and water.

Step 5: Cook the ground pork

Add the pork to a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Use a bamboo spatula or wooden spoon and break it up just a bit for about 30 seconds, then add the sauce.

Continue breaking up the pork and cook until the liquid has evaporated, and you are just starting to get some brown, crispy edges on the meat. Don't overcook, see tips below.

Step 6: Assemble the pork lettuce wraps

Add a couple of tablespoons of pork into the lettuce cups, top with carrots and some of their vinegar pickling liquid. Add fresh cilantro, sliced chilis, or hot sauce to taste.

What kind of lettuce is best for wraps?

I like Boston bibb lettuce, also called butter lettuce, for wraps. The leaves form cups that are sturdy enough to hold the pork, but also flexible enough to bend without breaking. You can use your favorite leafy green lettuce, try romaine, green leaf or red leaf.

Expert Tips

• There is only a little bit of sesame oil in this recipe and that is very intentional, because it has a very strong flavor and a little goes a long way. You really don't need any more.
• Be careful that you don't over-brown the ground pork. We want it cooked through and just starting to get crispy. If you try to get ALL of it crispy, you'll overcook it and it will be too dry and crumbly.
• Keep your lettuce wraps small! Don't try to stuff them to over-flowing with pork. Enjoying the crisp, fresh lettuce cups is part of the fun. Giant wraps will just wilt and fall apart.
• Don't sleep on the pickled carrots on top! You need the sweetness and acidity from the carrots AND their vinegary liquid to balance the salty flavors in the pork. Drizzle away!
• You can make the pork one day ahead and the carrots up to three days ahead. Reheat the pork in the microwave or in a skillet over medium heat before serving.
• Make these gluten free by substituting tamari or gluten free soy sauce for traditional soy sauce.

How to serve pork lettuce wraps

This is the fun part! You can pre-make the lettuce wraps and put them out on a platter, or you can let each person assemble their own, filling them with as much pork as they like and serve toppings on the side.

Depending on what kind of lettuce you choose, you might want a double layer or single layer of lettuce cups as the base of the wrap.

Recommended tools and equipment

• Microplane grater and box grater: You'll use the microplane grater for the ginger and garlic, and the box grater for the carrots.
• Mixing bowls and whisk: You'll need two bowls, one for the pickled carrots and one for the pork's cooking sauce.
• Non-stick skillet and bamboo spatula or wooden spoon: A non-stick skillet is the friendliest and makes for easy cleanup. The bamboo spatula or wooden spoon is ideal for breaking up the ground pork as it cooks.

More Asian recipes

• Vietnamese Caramel Chicken is a one-pan recipe with a salty-sweet sauce that's packed with ginger.
• Asian Broccoli makes a great side dish for lettuce wraps and cooks quickly.

These ground pork lettuce wraps are quick and easy, perfect for weeknights!

• So easy, very little prep, just grating carrots, ginger and garlic.
• The ground pork cooks quickly—in about 10 minutes!
• You can make the ground pork, the carrots, and prepare all the toppings for the lettuce wraps in about 20 minutes total, for a low-stress weeknight meal.
• Customize the toppings and level of spice to suit your tastes.
• They're dairy free and can easily be modified to be gluten free.