Crispy Thai Mango Tacos

Okay, let me be frank with you: the real name of this dish is "Crispy Pork Larb"; You can understand why I changed it for this blog. That said, whatever you call it this dish is one of the reasons (my spouse is the other) that I have any friends--or, more bluntly, why even if I don't have any friends, I still get invited to potlucks. Put another way, this is the best tasting food you will ever put in your mouth. I've never met a person who's tasted it an not loved it.

The recipe below comes from Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce, but I've made some adjustments to make it more kid friendly (The adult version, for instance, takes another quarter of the red chili pepper). This dish also works well with vegetarian-friendly fake ground meats, though it won't get quite as crispy.

Thai Mango Tacos

Dressing:

3 TBSP brown sugar

1/4 medium red chili pepper (or jalapeno or whatever) deseeded and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 TBSP peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 cup lime juice (or slightly less, say 3/8 of a cup)

1.5 TBSP fish sauce

Tacos:

3 stalks lemongrass

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb ground pork

1-1.5 Tbsp brown sugar

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 ripe mango, diced

3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

20 heart of romaine lettuce leaves, to serve (I find these packaged in the produce section, usually three stalks to the bag. Simple wash, cut off the stem at the bottom, and allow to dry)

1. Make the sauce first by crushing everything but the juices together in a mortar and pestle or a small food processor. Add juices and mix well.
2. Cut away any tough bits from the lemongrass, and finely slice the rest.
3. Heat your wok to high. Add the oil, let warm, then toss in the lemon grass and cook for 15 seconds.
4. Add the pork in one big lump and cook it until crisp underneath. Seriously, while you don't want it black, you are burning it here.
5. Break pork with a fork and/or spatula, then add the sugar and continue cooking for three minutes.
6. Add onions and cook for two more minutes or until the meat is thoroughly done. Remove from heat.
7. Pour the dressing over the pork, add the mango and the cilantro, then mix to combine.
8. Serve to table, allowing everyone to make their own by lining the seams of the lettuce leaves with the meat/mango mixture and eating like a taco.

Have plenty of napkins handy! This is messy but good!

Family Ratings (on a 1-10 scale):

Will, whose idea it was to cook the onions: 7.5

Jamie, who has a little trouble managing the lettuce leaves: 7.5

Lucy, who loves Thai food: 10

Ellen, who loves Thai food: 10

Paul, who likes being invited to parties: 10