Asian Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps

Ground pork is something I want to use a lot more of. To date, I've used it in tacos, in meatballs, in meatloaf and in pasta sauce. Tonight I wanted to do something with a bit of Asian flavor added in and I also wanted to keep the carbs down. While grocery shopping, I was thinking about using ground pork in a Vietnamese rice paper roll but then I saw the butter lettuce. Using lettuce would be quick, light and easy on the carbs. The result? Delicious!

If you can't find butter lettuce, smiply use iceberg instead. Which ever lettuce you choose, make sure the leaves are strong and thick so that you can "wrap" the meat filling without the lettuce tearing.

Asian Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps
(Prep Time: 20 Minutes/Total Time: 30 minutes. Serves 4)

Ingredients:
1 cup rice (optional)
16 butter or iceberg lettuce leaves
1 pound lean ground pork
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon reduced salt soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 cups purple or green cabbage, sliced thin and chopped
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
 
Directions:
If serving with rice, begin to cook rice according to package directions.
 
Gently rinse whole lettuce leaves. Pat dry and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Brown the ground pork while continually stirring. Once fully cooked, remove ground pork from pan and set aside to cool.

In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium then add the other tablespoon of oil. Cook the onion for 1 minute. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and vinegar to the onions and stir. Add in cabbage and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt and the cabbage is soft, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add in pork and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
 
To serve, spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat, serve with rice and enjoy!