This is a fun, light, healthy Thai dish that is infinitely customizable. The base is a sauteed meat like chicken or pork (or tofu, if you want to keep it vegetarian). Add it to a lettuce leaf along with other toppings of your choosing, then roll it up and eat it before it can fall apart.

The flavors are a blend of spicy, tangy, herbal, and a little sweet, depending on which ingredients you use. There isn’t much fat and fewer carbs. Enjoy this on a hot day, or any day when it sounds good! As an alternative, if you get tired of wrapping in lettuce, just throw everything together and make a salad. We were using fresh lettuce leaves from our garden, which weren’t quite as large as store-bought, but ensured that we were keeping the wraps bite-sized. You do you, with whichever type of lettuce you want.

The inspiration here comes from a recipe in Family Thai: Bringing the Flavors of Thailand Home by Arnold Myint and Kat Thompson (2025).

Meat:
1 tbsp. sunflower or vegetable oil
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced
8 oz. boneless chicken thigs, pork shoulder, tofu, or other protein, cut into 1-inch squares
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. Thai seasoning sauce or light soy sauce
2 tbsp. preserved sweet radish, chopped

Salad platter:
1/4 c. red onion, chopped
1/2 lime, cut into small wedges
1/4 c. peanuts
1/4 c. lemongrass, trimmed of outer leaves and thinly sliced
1/4 c. preserved sweet radish
1/4 c. other vegetable like cucumber or green beans
1/4 c. fried shallots
1/4 c. shredded coconut
1/4 c. Thai chiles, chopped (optional if you want to curb the spices as these can be deadly for unprepared diners)
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 c. fresh Thai basil
Lettuce leaves
Pad Thai sauce or tamarind sauce
Optional: cooked rice noodles

Heat the oil in a large skilled over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add the meat and cook on one side (about 2 minutes). Use tongs to flip the meat, then add the sugar, fish sauce, and Thai seasoning sauce.

Cook and stir until the meat begins to caramelize and is cooked through. Add the preserved radish and stir to combine.

Transfer to a serving bowl in the center of a large Serving platter. Surround it with small bowls of the other salad platter ingredients. Add the lettuce (and noodles, if using) to another plate.

To eat, spoon some meat and your choice of salad toppings to a lettuce leaf. Drizzle a little Pad Thai sauce on top. Fold up and eat in a bite or two before it all falls apart!