6 cups cooked white or brown jasmine rice - see recipe notes

For The Dressing (Nuoc Cham) ~
1/2 cup hot water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce (use this quantity to start - add more to taste)
2 tablespoons shredded carrots (optional)

Preparation ~
Toss the lettuce, scallions, mint, cilantro and basil together in a large bowl. Set aside the cucumber slices separately. Cover and refrigerate.

Heat the vegetable oil over moderately-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking up the large chunks with a spatula. Add the sugar and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce. Continue cooking until the meat browns slightly. Remove the pork to a bowl and set aside.

Put a bit more oil in the pan if needed, add the onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to release its aroma - about one minute more.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons fish sauce and the diced tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

While the tomato mixture simmers, combine your dressing ingredients and place in a serving bowl or cruet.

Add the pork, along with any accumulated juices back into the pan with the tomato mixture.

Cook for about 2 minutes, until the pork is heated through. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add your fresh tomato wedges, toss gently and remove from the heat.

To Serve ~
Place the meat mixture in a serving dish. Divide the salad mixture between six dinner plates. Top each salad serving with a cup of cooked rice and garnish around the edges with the cucumber slices. Each diner should top the rice with the a portion of the pork and drizzle the Nuoc Cham over the top.

Makes 6 servings.

This recipe is part of our "Dinner For Six For Sixty Dollars"
Click here to read the details ~

Recipe Notes ~
For this recipe, I like to use Italian diced tomatoes in an aseptic container.

I served brown jasmine rice for this dish and used Alton Brown's foolproof method for cooking it.

The directions are as follows: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Measure 2 cups of brown rice into an 11" x 9" glass baking dish. Add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon salt and 3-1/3 cups of water. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until rice is fluffy and water is absorbed.

I always use an electric rice cooker for white rice of all kinds, but I find that brown rice has a tendency to come out either underdone or mushy. Alton Brown's oven method works perfectly every time and it's just as easy.

• Ingredients/Cuisine:
• pork
• Vietnamese cuisine