Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 pound ground pork

5 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano chili peppers, seeded if desired and thinly sliced

2 small heads Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, coarsely grated

1 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation

  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and cook, stirring, until the liquid is almost evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes more.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the lime juice, jalapeño peppers, and the remaining 4 tablespoons of fish sauce and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
  3. Divide the lettuce among bowls, top with the pork mixture, shallot, carrots, mint, and peanuts, and drizzle with the lime dressing.