Asian Pork Salad

Ground pork cooked in a ginger and sesame oil sauce over a bowl of lettuce makes a great quick weeknight meal for the whole family: Asian Pork Salad.

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe that was inspired by my favorite cookbook, 100 Days of Real Food. We have been using her recipe for Asian Lettuce Wraps for at least a year now but changing it up to suit our tastes (and skills). Since it’s different, we call it Asian Pork Salad.

The original recipe suggests making the pork mixture, then using large pieces of lettuce as a wrap. We tried that. It didn’t work out well at all. The first time we bought lettuce that was big enough to make a wrap. They just kept falling apart on us as we were trying to hold it. Not to mention all the juices dripping out. Needless to say, it was a mess. But we loved the flavor.

We tried again. And failed. Again. I put the recipe away for a little while as a lost cause. Then one day, when Justin was searching through the book for a good recipe when we were doing our weekly meal planning, he suggested we try it again. This time, we bought lettuce with the intent of making it into a pork salad rather than as a wrap, and it worked so much better.

Ever since then, we haven’t even tried to do this as a wrap but always make it into a salad. It’s a bit easier for us, we don’t have to try to buy lettuce that will work specifically as a wrap, and it is nowhere near as messy. If you want to try it as a wrap, there’s nothing wrong with that! Just make the pork mixture the same way, but instead of adding it to a bowl with the lettuce, put the meat in the piece of lettuce.

Asian Pork Salad Step by Step

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup carrots (minced)
• 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 cup water chestnuts (drained)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 head lettuce (chopped)

Preparation

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the carrots. I like to use an electric food chopper to chop the carrots up, so they are small, but stop before they become carrot mush. I find this works best if you use baby carrots to start with or at least cut them into pieces. Cook the carrots for a few minutes until they are soft but don’t let them start to brown.

Add the pork and ginger. Cook until the pork is broken up and cooked all the way through. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

Then add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and water chestnuts. Heat the mixture until the liquid is almost evaporated, about 3-5 minutes. Stir everything together well.

Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the cilantro. Line your serving bowls with chopped lettuce and spoon the pork mixture on top. I like to use a slotted spoon, so you don’t get too much of the liquid in the bowl. Serve warm and enjoy!

Recipe

Asian Pork Salad

Ground pork cooked in a ginger and sesame oil sauce over a bowl of lettuce makes a great quick weeknight meal for the whole family: Asian Pork Salad.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Course:

Main Dish

Cuisine:

American

|

Asian

Keyword:

pork

|

salad

|

soy sauce

Servings: 4 servings

5 from 11 votes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup carrots (minced)
• 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 cup water chestnuts (drained)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 head lettuce (chopped)

Recommended Equipment

• Saute Pan
• Food Processor
• Garlic Press
• Slotted Spoon
• Can Opener

Instructions

• In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat
• Add the carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened
• Add the ginger and ground pork, stirring for about 10 minutes until the pork is broken up and cooked through
• Add the water chestnuts, soy sauce, and sesame oil
• Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring to coat the meat
• Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the cilantro
• Line serving bowls with lettuce, then use a slotted spoon to scoop the meat mixture into the bowls

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Nutrition Facts

Asian Pork Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 461 Calories from Fat 306

% Daily Value*

Fat 34g52%

Saturated Fat 10g50%

Cholesterol 81mg27%

Sodium 913mg38%

Potassium 715mg20%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 4g16%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 6020IU120%

Vitamin C 7.2mg9%

Calcium 54mg5%

Iron 2.5mg14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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