Vietnamese Pork Rolls

If I could ask you to tilt your head to the left to look at the photo from an angle... I'll wait... Ah, there you see our lovely pork roll dinner! I don't know why I photographed at such a jaunty angle... but... this way, we get to interact! Woo!

Speaking of which, is anyone else sad that Age of Love is over? Yes, it was a terribly lame show, but the creative editing of the women and their interaction with each other and then with Mark? OMG, television gold. I adore drama - so long as it belongs to someone else - and this show was our guilty little pleasure. Week after week, Age of Love delivered a silly little hour of laughter, and frankly, I'm depressed its over. Depressed! (That, and I think the "kitten" he ended up with is totally creepy...)

Anyway, back to the meal. If you look at the photo and then at the recipe, you'll see that I used different bell peppers. We have a slew of peppers growing on our porch, none red, of course, and I couldn't justify buying red ones when I had perfectly nice green, orange, and purple ones. We have some squiggly red ones, so you'll see those in future posts.

Right, so.... these rocked. I think each time I make something out of one of these SBD books, I expect the worst, because of the scanty ingredient list... but then when we actually eat it, I'm reminded that I just need to tell that worried voice to stuff it. (I was even in the band in school, so you'd think I'd know by now that even if your part stinks, as a whole, it all fits together beautifully!)

The dressing was zingy and flavorful and while it will seem like it isn't enough sauce, it is. Just toss a little on the pork and toss it around on the veggies, and you're fine. You don't need to make double. I made only three cutlets, and it was more than enough for the two of us for dinner and then lunch the next day.

We have more pork in the freezer and more napa cabbage, so we'll likely have this again soon.

Vietnamese Pork Rolls
From: The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less

Dressing:
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes

Pork:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound pork cutlets
1 (1/2 lb) head napa cabbage, shredded (3 cups)
1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
8 large Boston lettuce leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing: Whisk together fish sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

For the pork: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season pork with salt and pepper and sauté until lightly browned, 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and slice into thin strips. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the dressing.

Combine cabbage, bell pepper, and remaining dressing in a large bowl. Lay lettuce leaves on a clean, dry work surface. Divide pork among leaves. Top with cabbage mixture and roll tightly, tucking edges in as you go. Place rolls, seam side down, on a cutting board, cut in half, and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 220 cals, 10 g fat, 2.5 sat fat, 26 g protein, 6 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 490 mg sodium