Thai Crumbled Beef In Lettuce Wraps

Serving:6

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 red birdeye or other small, hot red chillies, finely chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1-2 small heads iceberg lettuce
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• scant tablespoon Thai fish sauce
• 4 scallions, white parts only, finely chopped

DIRECTION
Put the oil in a nonstick frying pan on medium heat and when warm add the finely chopped chillies and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. It’s wiser not to leave the pan, as you don’t want them to burn. Add the beef, turn up the heat and, breaking up the ground beef with a wooden spoon or fork, cook for 3 or 4 minutes till no trace of pink remains. Add the fish sauce and, still stirring, cook till the liquid’s evaporated. Off the heat, stir in the scallions, zest and juice of the lime and most of the cilantro. Turn into a bowl, and sprinkle over the remaining cilantro just before serving.
Arrange the iceberg lettuce leaves on another plate — they should sit one on top of another easily enough — and let people indulge in a little DIY (do-it-yourself) at the table, filling cold crisp leaves with spoonfuls of sharp, spicy, hot, crumbled meat.

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