Pork & Cashew Lettuce Wraps

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I returned from Lisbon, with a suitcase full of wonderful ingredients that I bought at an Asian Market. I started thinking of ways to use some of them. Lettuce wraps were one of the first things that came to mind. I am so happy I made these. They were loaded with flavor and are the perfect combination of savory, spicy and crunchy that I just love. Plus they’re easy, made in one pan and  require very little cleanup. Little clean up is always a great thing in my books ! The sauce I added from another recipe, it just gave it a little kick. Mr.G and I had these for lunch and the kids had them for dinner. I actually added rice noodles to the leftover pork mixture, the kids loved it, and requested I make them again, real soon !







2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef ( I used pork)
2 tsps ginger finely grated
2 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chopped peanuts ( I used cashews)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 head Boston Bibb leaves cleaned and dried (I used butter lettuce )

Rinse the lettuce leaves, taking care not to tear them as you separate them. Pat dry and set aside.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and saute the groun pork until brown. Stir in ginger, scallions, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and hoisin and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the cashews. Season with salt and pepper. To serve spoon some of the pork mixture into the lettuce leaves, and drizzle with a little sauce.


Sauce:

1tbsp soy sauce
Juice of ½ lime
1tsp sesame oil
½ red chilli, thinly sliced
1 Small bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped
1–2 tsp fish sauce, to taste
1tsp light brown sugar
1tbsp olive oil

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and adjust to taste.


Recipes found here and here.

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