Grilled Pork Lettuce Wraps

 

I know what you are thinking... TWO pork recipes in a week, right?  Well, I actually made this over a week ago and am just now getting around to blogging about it :)  What's great is Wednesday I shared a recipe for pork using thick cut chops and today, I'm showing you how you can use up those thin cut chops!  I'm all about being well rounded in the kitchen!!

There was a time in my life when I had lettuce wraps almost every night of the week for dinner.  I loved them that much.  I usually just made them with grilled chicken, but still, it was a staple of my diet for about a year.  Then, like most things I over due, I sort of put it aside and moved on.  What surprised me the most was when I realized that I had not made lettuce wraps the whole time Chris and I have been together...almost 5 years!!  That's just blasphemy!  So I figured it was time to rectify that.  My normal routine was to marinate chicken in a raspberry chipotle sauce that I purchased from Costco.  Since I have now created my own raspberry chipotle sauce, I figured it was time to do a little something different with the wraps.  That's when I stumbled across this recipe in my Food Network magazine and I new this was what I wanted to make.  Chris was a bit hesitant at first and I don't believe he cared for the lettuce not holding everything in perfectly, but I know he really enjoyed them, so that's a fantastic meal in my book!!  It's healthy, it's fun, it's a meal meant for the summer!

Grilled Pork Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from Food Network Magazine
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Asian chile paste (Sambal Oelek is what I used)
1 pound thin, boneless pork chops
1-2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 head green leaf lettuce, leaves separated (or Boston lettuce will work well too)
1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves
1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
Sriracha

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and chile paste until combined.  Place the pork in a Ziploc bag, pour the marinade over it, seal, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat your grill to high and brush the grates with vegetable oil.  Remove the pork from the bag and discard the marinade.  Place directly over the fire for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remember, these chops are thin, so they are going to cook quickly... try not to over cook them, it's easy to do when they are thin.  3-4 minutes a side is plenty of time, especially if the grill is nice and hot hot hot...I promise!  Remove the pork from the grill and transfer onto a cutting board.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes then cut into strips.

Here's how I assemble my lettuce wraps:  Lettuce leaf, topped with a spoonful of rice, topped by a cucumber slice, 1 or 2 mint leaves, 1 or 2 slices of jalapeno, pork slices and finally, a little (or a lot) Srircha.  Roll into sort of a cigar/burrito and devour!!

One Year Ago:  Herb Marinated Chicken