Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps

This was a really delicious meal that I might make again - though I rarely eat pork, and the preparation actually took quite a while. Eating them was a little messy too!

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps
When take-out's not an option
Exotic at home!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb organic fresh ground pork
• 2 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp white rice
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 medium shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings
• 3 Tbsp juice from 2 limes
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, washed and dried, leaves separated and left whole

1. In a medium bowl, mix the ground pork with the fish sauce. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
2. Heat rice in small skillet over medium-high heat; cook, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool 5 minutes. Grind in a mortar and pestle until it resembles a fine meal.
3. Bring broth to a simmer in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, stirring frequently, until about half of the pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle 1 tsp rice powder over pork; continue to cook, stirring constantly until the remaining pork is no longer pink, 2 minutes longer. Transfer pork to a large bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes.
4. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce, remaining 2 tsp rice powder, shallots, lime juice, sugar, red pepper flakes, mint, and cilantro to the pork; toss to combine. Serve with lettuce leaves.

The original recipe calls for pork tenderloin and requires you to grind it yourself. (Do this by cutting it into chunks, freezing until firm (about 15 minutes) and then pulsing it in a food processor.) I thought the recipe would have been better with slightly less fish sauce and slightly less sugar. The former was quite salty and the latter too sweet. I liked the taste of the mind and cilantro to come through fresher. It is very important to use fresh limes since bottled lime juice has an unnaturally tangy flavor.

Recipe found in Cook's Illustrated, October 2009.