Chinese lettuce wraps with ground turkey
Have you guys ever had lettuce wraps before? They are so tasty. And it seems strange to say, but the lettuce actually makes this meal, in my opinion. In contrast to all those recipes out there that sub lettuce for some kind of carb, this one isn’t making any substitutions. The lettuce is purposeful and right, and I promise you—you will not want to eat this dish any other way. It consists of ground turkey (or chicken, I've used both!) and sautéed onion and garlic with all the best Asian flavors: fresh ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and Sriracha. And water chestnuts! One of the most underrated ingredients—such great texture and flavor. The result is such a satisfying light lunch that just might rival the version you’ve had at that one Asian restaurant chain that I secretly love.
This isn’t a dish in which I prefer to use olive oil because all of the Asian flavors in it are best left to shine on their own. Therefore, this seemed like a perfect recipe to try out Healthy Harvest’s cooking oil that they sent me. The downside, though, is that other cooking oils don’t have nearly the nutritional benefit that olive oil does. So if there’s one out there that is at least organic and made the right way, I’m all for it. Healthy Harvest's is organic, non-GMO, and just a good quality cooking oil. I'm looking forward to trying the soy bean oil soon, as well. Thanks, Healthy Harvest!
Chinese lettuce wraps with ground turkey
Yields 3-4 servings, or 8-10 lettuce wraps
1½ T Healthy Harvest organic cooking oil or other non-flavored oil
½ sweet onion, diced
½ tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 lb ground turkey (I’ve used ground chicken too--this time I could only find turkey at Wegmans!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp freshly grated ginger
2 T rice wine vinegar
¼ cup plus 1 tsp soy sauce
1 T hoisin sauce
Few dashes fish sauce
1 tsp Sriracha sauce (or more to taste)
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts, rough chopped
3 green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped
Squeeze of lime juice
Cilantro, rough chopped, for garnish
Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add onion, salt, and pepper, and sautee for about 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until brown and cooked through, using a wooden spoon to break turkey into small crumbles. Add garlic and ginger and stir for another minute. Add in vinegar (may act as a deglaze for the pan if it’s hot enough, so get ready to stir bottom of the pan to scrape up any brown bits). Then stir in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and Sriracha. Let it simmer for a minute until all flavors have been incorporated. Throw in water chestnuts, green onions, and lime juice, and give it one last stir. It’s ready to serve! Add a large spoonful to center of lettuce leaf, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and more sriracha if you’re feeling dangerous, and roll it or fold it up to eat. When I make this ahead for weekday lunches, I pre-wash and dry the lettuce leaves, storing them in a ziplock bag, and just heat up the ground turkey mixture right before eating.