THE SPLIT PLATE / RECIPE

Pork Mince Lettuce Wraps

Restraint is the brand. No hoisin, no peanut butter, no sugary glaze — fish sauce + lemon + sesame chili oil do the lift. Adults get the heat (2 fresh chilies in the pork, 2 more in the drizzle); kids never see a chili — their portion is pulled aside before chilies hit the pan, and the sauce is mixed INTO the mince so they don't have to pour anything themselves.

YIELD4 servings
TOTAL TIME25 min
COOK METHODSee method
EST. / SERVING~491 cal | ~53g protein
KEY TO SUCCESS: HEAT FIRST, AROMATICS FIRST. Pan on medium-high, spray with avocado oil, add ginger garlic paste + chopped green onion. 60-90 sec until fragrant. NEVER dump pork into a cold pan or a pan without aromatics.

Ingredients

PROTEIN

  • 32 oz NY Style Sausage Co. 95% Lean Ground Pork (2 packs)

SHARED SEASONING

  • 2 tbsp Red Boat Fish Sauce 40°N
  • 2 tsp Dynasty Sesame Chili Oil (Goma Rayu)
  • 3 tbsp ReaLemon lemon juice (~6 portions)
  • 4 pinches Dan-O's SPG Tri-O seasoning

VEHICLE

  • Tanimura & Antle Artisan Sweet Gem Lettuce — separated into wrap-sized leaves

Option 2

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Herdez Taqueria Avocado Cilantro Sauce (mild creamy)
  • 1 tbsp chicken bone broth (any brand — Kirkland or Bare Bones)
  • Tanimura & Antle Sweet Gem lettuce leaves OR dinner slider rolls

AROMATICS

  • Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray (4 seconds = ~1 tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp Verka Organic Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 1 cup chopped green onion (~1 bunch)

ADULT FINISH (in pan)

  • 2 fresh red Thai chilies, finely chopped

ADULT SAUCE (Lift Drizzle, 2 servings)

  • Lift Drizzle: 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy + 1 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 1/2 tsp Deep Coriander Powder + 2 chopped fresh red chilies (full recipe → )

Option 1

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Herdez Taqueria Avocado Cilantro Sauce (mild creamy)
  • 1 tbsp chicken bone broth (any brand — Kirkland or Bare Bones)
  • Tanimura & Antle Sweet Gem lettuce leaves OR dinner slider rolls

Allergens: fish, soy, sesame.

AFTER SHARED SEASONING. Pull ~1/4 of the pan into a deli container before chilies go in. Adult half gets chilies + Lift Drizzle on the side; kid portion gets the cilantro crema mixed in directly.

Method

Shared base

  1. 1.HEAT PAN + SPRAY. Stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Spray with Chosen Avocado Oil for 4 seconds.
  2. 2.AROMATICS FIRST. Add 2 tbsp Verka ginger garlic paste + 1 cup chopped green onion. Sauté 60-90 sec until fragrant. Don't brown — soften.
  3. 3.ADD PORK + BROWN. Add 32 oz ground pork. Spread in single layer. Don't stir for 90 sec — let crust form. Then break with spatula, brown the rest. 6-8 min total.
  4. 4.SHARED SEASONING. Add 2 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 2 tsp Dynasty sesame chili oil + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 4 pinches Dan-O's SPG. Stir to coat. Cook 60 sec.
  5. 5.SPLIT MOMENT. Spoon ~1/4 of the pan (~250g cooked) into a deli container. THIS IS THE KID PORTION — set aside. After this, the rest of the pan gets chilies.

Adult — Lettuce Cup + Lift Drizzle on the Side

  1. 6.ADULT FINISH. After the split, add 2 chopped fresh red Thai chilies to the remaining pork. Stir + cook 30 sec.
  2. 7.BUILD LIFT DRIZZLE. In a small bowl, whisk 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy + 1 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 1/2 tsp Deep Coriander Powder + 2 chopped chilies. Stir until coriander dissolves.
  3. 8.SERVE. Plate adult mince in a bowl. Lift Drizzle in a separate small bowl with a spoon. Tanimura & Antle Sweet Gem leaves on a paper-towel-lined platter. Build at the table — leaf, spoon of mince, spoon of drizzle.

Kid — Pre-Mixed Mince + Lettuce OR Slider Rolls · Option 1

  1. 6.MIX KID SAUCE INTO MINCE. In the deli container (or transfer to a bowl), stir 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp Herdez Avocado Cilantro + 1 tbsp chicken bone broth INTO the kid's pork. Sauce should coat the mince visibly without pooling at the bottom.
  2. 7.PLATE. Kid bowl of pre-sauced mince + a few Sweet Gem leaves on the side. No drizzle ramekin — sauce is already in.

Kid — Pre-Mixed Mince + Lettuce OR Slider Rolls · Option 2

  1. 6.Same mince mix (kid sauce stirred in). Serve in a halved dinner slider roll like a tiny sloppy joe. Kids who hate lettuce will eat this.

SPLIT PLATE SERVING

Adult — Lettuce Cup + Lift Drizzle on the Side: Serve the adult portion as described above.

Kid — Pre-Mixed Mince + Lettuce OR Slider Rolls: Serve the kid portion as described above.

Keys to success

  • BROWN, DON'T STEAM. Spread pork in a single layer. Don't stir for 90 sec. Crust forms on contact. Then break with a spatula and brown the rest. The photos in the recipe show separated mince texture — not gray clumps.
  • SEASON SHARED, SPLIT LATE. Fish sauce + sesame chili oil + lemon + Dan-O's SPG (4 pinches) go in BEFORE the split. All of this is kid-safe (no chilies yet). Stir to coat.

If something fails

Pork came out gray + steamed, not browned: Pan wasn't hot enough, OR you stirred too early. Medium-HIGH. Spread the mince. Don't touch for 90 sec — let the crust form on contact.

Lettuce wilted in the wrap by the second bite: Lift Drizzle was poured over the mince in the pan or onto the lettuce. SERVE THE DRIZZLE SEPARATELY. Spoon into each wrap immediately before eating.

Too spicy / kid bite of something they shouldn't have: Chilies went in before the split. PULL THE KID PORTION FIRST, THEN add chilies. No fix mid-recipe — start over for the kid portion (~5 min).

Adult sauce tastes flat / one-dimensional: Coriander powder skipped, OR lemon under-measured. The lift comes from lemon + coriander. Bump lemon by 1 tbsp + add the 1/2 tsp coriander. Don't reach for sugar.

Kid refused even with the cilantro crema mix: Try the slider roll version — sometimes the rejection is the lettuce, not the mince. Or thin the kid sauce further with another tablespoon of bone broth. Last resort: add 1 tsp shredded mozzarella into the kid's mince for the comfort signal.

Too greasy in the lettuce: Lean % too low (you bought 80% instead of 95%) OR aromatic oil dumped instead of sprayed. Drain off rendered fat before the seasoning step if it pools.

MacroFactor doesn't match the listed macros: MacroFactor approximates by calorie/serving — the protein/fat/carb split is slightly off depending on which soy/fish sauce variant it indexed. Use the listed numbers as your source of truth for this site.

Storage and reheating

Store: Seasoned mince (both adult and kid portions) holds 3 days in airtight containers. Lift Drizzle keeps 5 days in a small jar. Sweet Gem lettuce washed + stored with paper towels in the bag — 3 days.

Reheat: Microwave the mince covered 60-90 sec. The lettuce is always fresh — wash + dry day-of, or store with paper towels. Lift Drizzle is dump-and-stir, build fresh per meal if possible.

Lasts: 3 days for the mince. Lift Drizzle 5 days. Sweet Gem lettuce 3 days washed (longer if you keep the heads intact).

Estimated nutrition

~491 cal | ~53g protein.

thesplitplate.com/recipes/pork-mince-lettuce-wraps

Pork Mince Lettuce Wraps
Split Cook Method™Core SignaturesThe Low-Carb Family Wrap

Pork Mince Lettuce Wraps

Restraint is the brand. No hoisin, no peanut butter, no sugary glaze — fish sauce + lemon + sesame chili oil do the lift. Adults get the heat (2 fresh chilies in the pork, 2 more in the drizzle); kids never see a chili — their portion is pulled aside before chilies hit the pan, and the sauce is mixed INTO the mince so they don't have to pour anything themselves.

Make this when

You want a high-protein dinner that adults assemble (lettuce cup + spicy fish-sauce drizzle) and kids eat with a spoon (mild creamy sauce mixed into the mince, lettuce OR slider rolls — their call). 25 min, one pan, one mince, two completely different formats.

Total time
25 min
Yield
4 servings
Protein
~53g
Calories
~491
Cost / serving
$5.00
Allergens and safety

Contains: fish, soy, sesame

Packaged ingredients change formulas — check the label on what's actually in your kitchen.

Spicy adult version
Adjust servings

Ingredients

Adults
Kids

PROTEIN

AROMATICS

SHARED SEASONING

ADULT FINISH (in pan)

ADULT SAUCE (Lift Drizzle, 2 servings)

VEHICLE

KID SAUCE (mixed INTO mince)

VEHICLE (kid's choice)

Method

Split point

AFTER SHARED SEASONING. Pull ~1/4 of the pan into a deli container before chilies go in. Adult half gets chilies + Lift Drizzle on the side; kid portion gets the cilantro crema mixed in directly.

3:1 Adult-to-Kid by volume (~750g cooked adult / ~250g cooked kid)

Shared base

Cook once — this part works for everyone.

  1. 1
    HEAT PAN + SPRAY

    Stainless steel pan over medium-high heat. Spray with Chosen Avocado Oil for 4 seconds.

  2. 2
    AROMATICS FIRST

    Add 2 tbsp Verka ginger garlic paste + 1 cup chopped green onion. Sauté 60-90 sec until fragrant. Don't brown — soften.

  3. 3
    ADD PORK + BROWN

    Add 32 oz ground pork. Spread in single layer. Don't stir for 90 sec — let crust form. Then break with spatula, brown the rest. 6-8 min total.

  4. 4
    SHARED SEASONING

    Add 2 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 2 tsp Dynasty sesame chili oil + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 4 pinches Dan-O's SPG. Stir to coat. Cook 60 sec.

  5. 5
    SPLIT MOMENT

    Spoon ~1/4 of the pan (~250g cooked) into a deli container. THIS IS THE KID PORTION — set aside. After this, the rest of the pan gets chilies.

Adult — Lettuce Cup + Lift Drizzle on the Side

  1. 6
    ADULT FINISH

    After the split, add 2 chopped fresh red Thai chilies to the remaining pork. Stir + cook 30 sec.

  2. 7
    BUILD LIFT DRIZZLE

    In a small bowl, whisk 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy + 1 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 1/2 tsp Deep Coriander Powder + 2 chopped chilies. Stir until coriander dissolves.

  3. 8
    SERVE

    Plate adult mince in a bowl. Lift Drizzle in a separate small bowl with a spoon. Tanimura & Antle Sweet Gem leaves on a paper-towel-lined platter. Build at the table — leaf, spoon of mince, spoon of drizzle.

Kid — Pre-Mixed Mince + Lettuce OR Slider Rolls

  1. 6
    MIX KID SAUCE INTO MINCE

    In the deli container (or transfer to a bowl), stir 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp Herdez Avocado Cilantro + 1 tbsp chicken bone broth INTO the kid's pork. Sauce should coat the mince visibly without pooling at the bottom.

  2. 7
    PLATE

    Kid bowl of pre-sauced mince + a few Sweet Gem leaves on the side. No drizzle ramekin — sauce is already in.

Adult plate | Kid plate

3:1 Adult-to-Kid by volume (~750g cooked adult / ~250g cooked kid)

Adult plate

Adult — Lettuce Cup + Lift Drizzle on the Side

53g
Protein
491
Calories

What makes it different

  • 2 fresh red Thai chilies, finely chopped
  • Lift Drizzle: 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy + 1 tbsp Red Boat fish sauce + 3 tbsp ReaLemon + 1/2 tsp Deep Coriander Powder + 2 chopped fresh red chilies (full recipe → )
  • Tanimura & Antle Artisan Sweet Gem Lettuce — separated into wrap-sized leaves
Kid plate

Kid — Pre-Mixed Mince + Lettuce OR Slider Rolls

28g
Protein
280
Calories

What makes it different

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Herdez Taqueria Avocado Cilantro Sauce (mild creamy)
  • 1 tbsp chicken bone broth (any brand — Kirkland or Bare Bones)
  • Tanimura & Antle Sweet Gem lettuce leaves OR dinner slider rolls

Three keys to success

  1. 1HEAT FIRST, AROMATICS FIRST. Pan on medium-high, spray with avocado oil, add ginger garlic paste + chopped green onion. 60-90 sec until fragrant. NEVER dump pork into a cold pan or a pan without aromatics.
  2. 2BROWN, DON'T STEAM. Spread pork in a single layer. Don't stir for 90 sec. Crust forms on contact. Then break with a spatula and brown the rest. The photos in the recipe show separated mince texture — not gray clumps.
  3. 3SEASON SHARED, SPLIT LATE. Fish sauce + sesame chili oil + lemon + Dan-O's SPG (4 pinches) go in BEFORE the split. All of this is kid-safe (no chilies yet). Stir to coat.

Go deeper

Storage and nutrition

Storage: Seasoned mince (both adult and kid portions) holds 3 days in airtight containers. Lift Drizzle keeps 5 days in a small jar. Sweet Gem lettuce washed + stored with paper towels in the bag — 3 days.

Reheat: Microwave the mince covered 60-90 sec. The lettuce is always fresh — wash + dry day-of, or store with paper towels. Lift Drizzle is dump-and-stir, build fresh per meal if possible.

Lasts: 3 days for the mince. Lift Drizzle 5 days. Sweet Gem lettuce 3 days washed (longer if you keep the heads intact).

Brands I use

NY Style Sausage Co.
95% Lean Ground Pork (16 oz, fresh, made in California)
95% lean is the right ratio — enough fat to brown + flavor the aromatics without rendering a puddle into the wraps. Fresh ground (not frozen), no preservatives, no MSG. Buy 2 packs for the 32 oz batch.
Verka
Verka
Organic Ginger Garlic Paste
Pre-minced + jarred. Saves 10 min of knife work. The paste form distributes evenly through the hot pan; fresh-minced ginger clumps. Cross-recipe with TKS Sauce (id 35).
Red Boat
Red Boat
Fish Sauce 40°N (8.45 fl oz, just anchovies + salt)
First-press, barrel-aged Vietnamese fish sauce. The salt + umami + fermented depth that lifts the dish without needing sugar. The 40°N grade is the cleanest — Three Crabs or Squid Brand work but skip the discount labels (they extend with caramel + MSG).
Dynasty
Dynasty
Sesame Chili Oil 'Goma Rayu' (3.5 fl oz)
Toasted sesame + slow chili = takeout aroma. Only 2 tsp here — aromatic top note, not the main heat (chilies do the heat). Cross-recipe with TKS Sauce (id 35).
Kikkoman
Kikkoman
All-Purpose Soy Sauce
Clean salt + umami. The default soy on this site — also in TKS Sauce. MacroFactor approximated with Reduced Sodium for calorie tracking; the real recipe uses All-Purpose.
Dan-O's
Dan-O's
SPG Tri-O Seasoning (Salt-Pepper-Garlic)
4 pinches into the shared pork. Kid-safe, no heat, savory backbone. Granulated garlic doesn't clump like fresh raw garlic. Cross-recipe with Protein Blue Cheese Crema.
Chosen Foods
Chosen Foods
Avocado Oil Spray (100% pure, pressed-not-blended)
Spray-not-pour. 4 seconds = ~40 cal; pouring 2 tbsp = 240 cal. Same searing surface, 200 cal saved per cook. High smoke point (500°F) so it doesn't break down at medium-high.
Tanimura & Antle
Tanimura & Antle
Artisan Sweet Gem Lettuce (4 heads per pack)
The leaf size — about 4 inches — is exactly wrap-sized. Crisp without snapping, sweet without bitterness, holds mince without leaking. Butter lettuce too soft, romaine too rigid, iceberg too brittle. Sweet Gem is the goldilocks.
Herdez
Herdez
Taqueria Avocado Cilantro Sauce (mild)
Kid sauce component. Mild creamy avocado + cilantro makes the kid version of a fresh-herb finish. 1 tbsp into the kid's mince + olive oil + bone broth creates a 3-ingredient mild sauce.
ReaLemon
100% Lemon Juice (small squeeze bottle)
The acid that does the lift. Without acid this becomes hot oily pork in lettuce. Use 3 tbsp into the shared seasoning + 3 tbsp into the Lift Drizzle. Fresh-squeezed lemon works but ReaLemon stays in the fridge year-round.
Deep
Coriander Powder (Indian grocery brand)
1/2 tsp into the Lift Drizzle. Bright citrus-floral aromatic — adds the third layer of lift after lemon + chilies. Zero calories, big flavor return.

Pairs With Your Leftovers

Cook this next

Browse all by ingredient →

Recipes that share the most ingredients with this one — same brands or proteins in your fridge are reusable here.

Spicy Fajita Chicken Gnocchi
3 shared

Spicy Fajita Chicken Gnocchi

Shared:

Green Onions / Scallions • Chili Crisp / Chili Oil • Dan-O's Seasoning

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Rice Bowls
3 shared

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Rice Bowls

Shared:

Green Onions / Scallions • Chicken Bone Broth • Chili Crisp / Chili Oil

Caesar Crunch Pizza Night
3 shared

Caesar Crunch Pizza Night

Shared:

Artisan Sweet Gem Lettuce • Sweet Gem / Little Gem • Dan-O's Seasoning

#lettuce-wraps#pork#se-asian#fish-sauce#low-carb#split-cook#weeknight#one-pan