Pork Lettuce Wraps

Cool and refreshing, my pork lettuce wraps make for a scrumptious, shareable appetizer, or even a light meal during the warm season. Prepared with a savory filling of ground pork, ginger, hoisin sauce, and sesame, then topped with a crisp radish slaw, this recipe brings the flavors of one of our favorite appetizers to our home kitchen!

A lettuce wrap worth getting wrapped up in

If there's one thing that my hubby and I just adore doing, it's going out to one of our favorite Asian restaurants to make a meal of various appetizers.

“Shareables” are such a fantastic way for us to enjoy a light meal together. We always end up getting a little of this and a little of that, each finger food just a few bites, brimming with different flavors and textures to awaken our taste buds.

When we do go out for one of these little meals, one of the items we just cannot seem to resist ordering is a lettuce wrap. It's all about the warm filling, fresh toppings, delicious sauce for drizzling, plus that cool, delicate lettuce cup to wrap everything up in.

And when the craving hits for some of those lettuce wraps, but not the craving to go out, I actually love to whip 'em up at home. I typically prepare my peanuty chicken lettuce wraps for us to share.

Wanting to play around a bit recently, I decided to create this pork lettuce wraps recipe here, and with a slightly different flavor profile.

Deliciously gingery, and savory-sweet from the hoisin and other scrumptious additions, these pork lettuce wraps are perfect to enjoy in a few cool and refreshing bites!

My recipe for pork lettuce wraps

For a lettuce wrap recipe, I like to think of it as a three-component meal: the filling, the sauce, and the topping.

I like to start with the sauce, because I typically add half of the sauce to the filling to flavor it, and then reserve half to serve alongside the lettuce wraps as an extra drizzle of sauce.

The base of my sauce is good-quality hoisin sauce, to which I add some freshly grated ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil, plus a pinch of red pepper flakes for kick—the kick is optional. It's both sweet and savory, and just the perfect flavor for the pork filling.

And speaking of the pork filling, I simply use ground pork here, cooking that just until it begins to brown a little. I then add in some garlic, more freshly grated ginger, half of the sauce, plus some green onions and cilantro.

Honestly, I could easily just eat the filling with a spoon, it's so good!

Then, for the fresh and crisp topper, I mix up a little radish slaw with a few julienned radishes, carrot, and cucumber, plus green onion and cilantro I dress it with a dash of rice vinegar and salt. That's it, super simple and delicious!

As for the lettuce, my favorite is butter lettuce, and I typically buy a small head or two (organic), and gently remove the individual leaves to use for wrapping. You can use romaine lettuce, or even iceberg leaves here (or your favorite), if those are easier to find.

All that's left is to spoon some of the warm pork filling into the lettuce, drizzle with sauce, and top with radish slaw for the ultimate pop of flavor!

Here's a sneak peek at my pork lettuce wraps recipe:

(or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I prepare my sauce to have ready to add a portion to the pork filling, reserving another portion for drizzling. I set it aside.
2. Next, I cook my pork filling, adding in my aromatics and a portion of the sauce, then allowing the filling to cool slightly to “warm” or room temp before serving.
3. While the pork filling cools, I prep my radish slaw by mixing things together in a bowl, and keeping that chilled, if necessary.
4. To assemble, I serve about 3 wraps per person as an appetizer for four (or 6 wraps, if splitting as a meal between two people). I spoon some of the pork filling into each lettuce leaf/cup, then drizzle with reserved sauce, and top with radish slaw before wrapping up.

Recipe

Pork Lettuce Wraps

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

These cool pork lettuce wraps are brimming with the flavors of ginger and hoisin, topped with a refreshing radish slaw!

Category: Appetizer
Cuisine: Asian-American

Yield: Serves 4

Nutrition info: 488 calories (per serving, 3 pork lettuce wraps)

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Pork Filling Ingredients:

• Avocado oil (1 tablespoon)
• 1 small, white onion, finely diced
• 1 pound ground pork
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced or chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 12 leaves of butter lettuce, or other large lettuce leaves for wrapping

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 (10 ounce) bottle hoisin sauce
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Pinch red pepper flakes, optional

Radish Slaw Ingredients:

• 4 large radishes, julienned
• ⅓ cup grated carrot
• ⅓ cup julienned cucumber
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• Pinch salt
• 2 green onions, finely sliced or chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your sauce ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. To prepare the sauce, whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl, dividing the sauce in half. Use one half for the pork filling, and the other half to drizzle over the lettuce wraps. Set aside.
3. Next, gather and prep all of your pork filling ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
4. To prepare the filling, place a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, and drizzle in about 1 tablespoon of the avocado oil. Once hot, add in the diced onion and sauté for several minutes until the onion begins to soften.
5. Next, add in the ground pork, along with a pinch of salt and black pepper, and use a wooden spatula or spoon to break the pork into a fine crumble as it cooks with the onion. Cook the pork for roughly 8 to 10 minutes, or until it begins to become golden brown, and the liquid begins to evaporate.
6. Then, add in the garlic and the ginger, and stir that into the pork until aromatic. Add in half of the sauce and stir that in to incorporate. Turn off the heat, and add in the green onion and cilantro, and fold to incorporate.
7. Spoon the pork filling into a serving bowl and allow it to cool slightly to warm or room temperature.
8. Meanwhile, gather and prep all of your radish slaw ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
9. To prepare the slaw, add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl, and toss together to coat.
10. Finally, to assemble the pork lettuce wraps, add a couple of spoonfuls of the pork filling to the center of a leaf of butter lettuce, drizzle with some of the remaining half of the sauce (if desired), then top with some of the radish slaw. Fold the leaf into a wrap, and enjoy.

Tips & Tidbits for my pork lettuce wraps recipe:

• Butter lettuce leaves for easy wrapping: Butter lettuce is the ideal green to use for wraps like this, as the leaves are a generous size, and are pliable for easy wrapping around the pork filling. I usually like to use the medium-large leaves, and simply pull them from a head of butter lettuce. Feel free to use your favorite leaves here. Romaine leaves or Belgian endive work as nice alternatives.
• Allow the pork filling to cool slightly before serving: While it's best to serve this pork filling while still warm, or at least room temp, avoid serving it directly out of the skillet as it will be quite hot and will wilt the lettuce leaves.
• Quick radish slaw, or your favorite toppings: I really love the cool and refreshing flavor and texture of the quick radish slaw in this recipe, but feel free to skip it and simply top the pork lettuce wraps with green onion and cilantro, pre-shredded carrot, or even chopped nuts.
• Prepare this pork lettuce wraps recipe ahead: If you'd like to prepare this appetizer the day before serving it for convenience, you can prep the sauce and the filling, allow the filling to cool, and keep it in the fridge. Then, just gently reheat the filling in a skillet to warm it up when ready to enjoy. Also, you can prep the slaw without the rice vinegar and salt, keep it cold, then add the vinegar and salt just before serving to keep it crisp.

Craving more delicious appetizers like this one? Check out my recipe for Thai Chicken Salad Wonton Cups, Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Thai Nachos, or even my recipe for Shrimp Tostada Bites!