How to Make Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

• 4 ounces bacon (about 4 slices), cut crosswise into ½-inch wide strips
• 2 cups sliced button mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons coconut vinegar
• ¼ cup beef or chicken bone broth
• 2 tablespoons MCT oil
• ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite (optional; for sweet flavor)
• Fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 1 pound ground pork
• ¼ cup diced yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or wheat-free tamari sauce
• ¼ teaspoon fish sauce (optional; for umami)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

• 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
• ½ bunch fresh mint
• ½ bunch fresh basil
• ½ bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 cup fried sliced shallots, green onions, or onions

Make the vinaigrette
1. Cook the bacon pieces in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until the bacon starts to crisp. Add the mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar and broth and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Stir in the MCT oil and stevia, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the parsley. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Make the filling
3. In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground pork, stirring often to break up the meat. Remove the meat from the pan, leaving the drippings in the pan. Cook the onion in the same pan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, coconut aminos, fish sauce, if using, ginger, and vinegar to the onions and stir. Stir in the green onions, sesame oil, and cooked pork and continue cooking until the onions are soft, about 2 minutes.
4. Rinse the whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Arrange the lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter and pile the pork filling in the center. To eat, each person spoons a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf and fills it with desired herbs, cucumber slices, and fried shallots, if using. The lettuce is wrapped around the meat like a burrito. Serve with the vinaigrette for dipping.