Vietnamese Lettuce Cups

1 iceberg lettuce 150 gm chicken mince 150 gm pork mince

2 cm piece ginger, peeled and grated 1 garlic clove, grated

2 French shallots, grated 60 ml fish sauce 2 tbsp peanut oil

1 tsp roasted peanuts, unsalted 100 gm rice vermicelli noodles 2 large round rice paper wrappers (banh trang) 100 gm enoki mushrooms, separated 180 gm bean sprouts 1 small Lebanese cucumber, cut into batons 1 carrot, peeled and julienned Handful of Vietnamese mint or coriander leaves, roughly chopped

3 red chillies, thinly sliced Lime cheeks to serve

Method

Peel individual leaves off the lettuce; try not to tear them. Rinse thoroughly. In a large bowl, add the chicken mince, pork mince, ginger, garlic, French shallots and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper before combining together. Place a wok over the highest heat possible. When it is smoking, add half the peanut oil. Add half of the mince mix and stir-fry until it is golden brown and crumbly. Transfer the mix to a sieve over a bowl; strain any remaining liquid. Discard the liquid. Repeat the process with the remaining mince and 1 tbsp of peanut oil. Reduce the heat to medium, add peanuts to the wok and fry until they are lightly coloured. Meanwhile, put the noodles in a bowl, and cover with boiling water. Drain after two minutes, or when the noodles are tender. Over high heat, fry the dry rice paper wrappers in 1 tsp of oil, one at a time, until toasted. Once cooked, break them up into pieces to fit into the lettuce cups. On a platter, make a stack of rice paper pieces, a stack of lettuce cups, individual salad items (mushrooms, bean sprouts, cucumber and carrot), a bowl of the mince mix, toasted peanuts, the mint and coriander, the chilli, the lime and the noodles. Serve.