Pork Larb Lettuce Cups

Father Day was yesterday and I made pernil because Eduardo deserves pernil every day of his life but especially on the day we celebrate the fact that he is the best father I know, which I realize is a complicated statement given that my own father was Miguel Delgado, a man who loved his children with theatrical intensity and drank rum with equal commitment. Eduardo is not Miguel. Eduardo is the opposite of Miguel. Eduardo is steady and sober and present in the quiet way, and my children have never once wondered if their father would show up or what condition he would be in when he did. That is not nothing. That is everything.

Miguel Jr. called. Rosa called. David called from Brooklyn. Sofia made Eduardo a card — handmade, again, because Sofia is the last child in America who still makes handmade cards and I will protect this with my life. The card said, Dad, thank you for always being there. Eduardo read it at the table and his eyes got red and he said, Thank you, Sofi, and that was it. That was Eduardo full emotional range on display. Two words and red eyes. Twenty-eight years and I have learned that Eduardo two words equal most people twenty minutes, and they mean more because Eduardo does not waste a single one.

I thought about Papi today. Miguel Delgado, sixty-eight when he died, six years ago now. Liver failure. The rum. I have made my peace with him, or I am making my peace with him, which is a process not an event. He loved us. He provided for us. He sang when he was drunk and cried when he was drunk and embarrassed us at school events and never missed a single one. He was not a bad father. He was a complicated father. And I named my firstborn after him because the love was real even when the man was unreliable, and I would do it again.

Made arroz con gandules with the pernil because that is the law in my house — pernil without arroz con gandules is like a sentence without a period, technically possible but fundamentally wrong. And tostones, because Eduardo loves tostones, and flan because Sunday without flan is just a day, and days without flan are not worth living. Eduardo ate everything and said, Thank you, Carmen. Two words again. Perfect.

Called Mami. She said, Tell Eduardo he is a good father. Better than your father. I said, Mami, that is not a hard bar to clear. She said, No, but he clears it with room to spare, and that matters. She is right. It matters. Eduardo, mi vida, you clear every bar with room to spare, and the food today was for you, and the love behind it was infinite, the way love is supposed to be. Happy Father Day, boring, beautiful man.

Pernil is the Sunday love language in my house and always will be, but when I want to carry that same spirit of honoring someone with pork — bright, bold, built with intention — on a weeknight when there is no six-hour roast in my future, these Pork Larb Lettuce Cups are where I land. Eduardo would eat these and say, Thank you, Carmen, and mean every syllable, because the man appreciates effort in any form it takes. The herbs, the lime, the heat — it is a different kind of festive than pernil, but festive all the same, and some weeks that is exactly what the table needs.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground pork
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons toasted rice powder (see note)
3 shallots, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, tender inner part only, minced (optional)
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly torn
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 head butter lettuce or Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
1 tablespoon neutral oil (such as avocado or vegetable)
Sliced cucumber and lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

Make the toasted rice powder. If you don’t have any on hand, add 2 tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice to a dry skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring frequently, for 5–7 minutes until golden and fragrant. Let cool, then grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
Cook the pork. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass (if using) and cook for 1–2 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, for 8–10 minutes until cooked through and just beginning to brown in spots. Remove from heat.
Season the larb. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, and toasted rice powder to the cooked pork. Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust — more lime for brightness, more fish sauce for depth, more pepper flakes for heat.
Add the fresh herbs. Fold in the mint, cilantro, and green onions. Stir gently — the herbs should stay bright and fresh, not wilted. The residual warmth from the pork is enough.
Assemble the cups. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter or individual plates. Spoon the pork larb into each leaf. Serve with sliced cucumber and lime wedges on the side for squeezing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pork Larb Lettuce Cups — For the Man Who Shows Up, Every Single Time