IreneAsian-style lettuce wraps
Lettuce wraps might seem like a pseudo-Asian food, more trendy than authentic, but my dad's been making them for as long as I can remember. Granted, his version is quite different from the kinds of lettuce wraps you get at Chinese restaurants--his uses arrowhead, a tuber that's kind of a cross between potato and water chestnut--but the idea is the same. Take a crisp cold lettuce leaf, wrap it around a warm savoury filling, and enjoy!
Recently I prepared some lettuce wraps for a fun, casual dinner at home. Like lots of hands-on foods, it's kid-friendly, and tasty. I used ground turkey for health reasons, but ground pork is more authentic. Ground beef would taste good too.
Because the wraps use lettuce and not a starch like tortilla or pita bread, we found that we each could tuck away more than we expected. It's pretty filling, nonetheless. For dipping, I put out small bowls of homemade peanut sauce, homemade honey garlic sauce, and a storebought sweet chili sauce. Delicious!
Ingredients
Filling (Makes about 6 servings; a serving comprises about 2-3 wraps, depending on the size of the leaf and amount of filling you use.)
Garnish
Directions
You can keep all of the garnish ingredients separate so that people can choose what they want, or mix them together if no one minds. Also, you can use cooked white rice if you don't have vermicelli. Lettuce wraps are extremely versatile, and you can use many different ingredients instead of, or in addition to, the ones listed in this recipe. Some alternatives include:
Asian-style lettuce wrap
Recently I prepared some lettuce wraps for a fun, casual dinner at home. Like lots of hands-on foods, it's kid-friendly, and tasty. I used ground turkey for health reasons, but ground pork is more authentic. Ground beef would taste good too.
Because the wraps use lettuce and not a starch like tortilla or pita bread, we found that we each could tuck away more than we expected. It's pretty filling, nonetheless. For dipping, I put out small bowls of homemade peanut sauce, homemade honey garlic sauce, and a storebought sweet chili sauce. Delicious!
Ingredients
Filling (Makes about 6 servings; a serving comprises about 2-3 wraps, depending on the size of the leaf and amount of filling you use.)
- 3 tsp canola oil, divided
- 4 large shiitake mushrooms, chopped
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey (or beef or pork)
- 6 green onions, minced
- 4 teaspoons minced or grated ginger root
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons sodium-reduced soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 cup cooked rice vermicelli
- 1/2 carrot, peeled and grated
- 1/2 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup toasted peanuts, chopped
- 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- Dipping sauces, homemade or storebought
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, carefully separated into leaves
Directions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until they are browned and softened, about 1 minute. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the pan. Stir-fry the ground meat in the oil until it is no longer pink.
- in the green onions, ginger root, and garlic; continue to cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the reserved mushrooms, soy sauce, and brown sugar to the meat mixture and stir-fry briefly to combine the flavours.
- Remove the pan from heat and stir in the rice vinegar and sesame oil.
- To assemble lettuce wraps, place a heaping spoonful of filling on a lettuce leaf and top with garnishes and sauce to taste. Then, roll or fold it up.
You can keep all of the garnish ingredients separate so that people can choose what they want, or mix them together if no one minds. Also, you can use cooked white rice if you don't have vermicelli. Lettuce wraps are extremely versatile, and you can use many different ingredients instead of, or in addition to, the ones listed in this recipe. Some alternatives include:
- bean sprouts
- water chestnuts
- white mushrooms, if you don't like shiitakes
- mung bean vermicelli
- snow peas
- bamboo shoots
