Lettuce-Noodle Parcels with Lamb-Peanut Sauce and Herbs

The Southeast-Asian custom of serving cooked foods with fresh herbs, raw vegetables or nuts, together with rice or noodles, then wrapping it all up in a lettuce leaf, is not only delicious, but tactilely satisfying. It is a study of contrasts: spicy salty peanut-and-lamb sauce spooned on to the bland, soft noodles, the freshness of the lettuce and herbs, and the assertiveness of the spicing. This is one instance where eating with one’s fingers is not impolite - it’s the best way.

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