Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Despite my italian heritage and undying love for my native cuisine, I’ve always had a love for Asian food. I can’t get enough of the flavors that make up most asian cuisine- salty, spicy, sour, sweet, and bitter. In fact, in most asian cultures, namely, in chinese culture, “he”, the harmony of these five flavors not only improves taste and satiety, but also has the function of achieving balance to promote health, as well as treating diseases and aiding recovery from injury.
After much trial and error, I finally perfected a recipe which incorporates these different flavors: Asian Turkey lettuce wraps! This happened over the course of many workweek evenings and out of necessity for wanting to serve my family a tasty, different, and healthy meal. They are now a staple in our workweek meal repertoire. They’re quick and easy and my whole family loves them. Even my kids eat them, and have tons of fun doing it! We enjoy them as an appetizer or a main dish and always hits everyone in the right spot- the mid point between being both very satisfied and also surprisingly light and refreshing.
Oh and I also get to use my wok that i’ve always wanted to use but never had an occasion to. Traditionally, a wok is used, but a regular saute pan or cast iron pan works perfectly.
Protip: To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free hoisin sauce, and tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
WHAT LETTUCE IS BEST FOR WRAPS?
here are three varieties of lettuce that I recommend to use when making these chicken lettuce wraps:
butter lettuce (recommended) is a softer lettuce, thick, large leaves and easy to roll.
bib lettuce, boston or green leaf all have a large, loose head and a dark green leaf.
Iceberg leTtuce gives them a nice crispiness but they are harder to roll compared to other lettuce types. pro tip: open these leaves in a bowl of water so they don’t tear.
To cut the lettuce for lettuce wraps, just cut the bottom part of the head of lettuce off. Then carefully peel away each lettuce leaf! Don’t forget to wash and dry the lettuce leaves before serving!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground turkey (see ‘health tips’ on my turkey vs. chicken debate)
1 TBSP peanut oil
2 green onions chopped (i like to cook with the white part of the onion up to the light green part & save the dark green part for garnish)
1 bell pepper, sliced (i like using the red variety)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
6 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped (white button variety is great in this dish)
1 8 oz can water chestnuts drained and coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (i love garlic so i tend to use 2-3 cloves!)
1/2 tsp minced ginger
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 TBSp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp red chili paste and/or miso paste (fermented food-great for gut health!!)
2 tsp sweet chili sauce (Trader Joe’s!) and/or sriracha
¼ cup peanuts crushed
a few sprinkles of sesame seeds
Lettuce or your favorite Asian salad
PREPARATION:
Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, red chili paste and or/miso paste and sweet chili sauce and/or Sriracha.
Heat 2 TBS peanut oil in a frying pan. Once hot, add ground turkey.
Cook until most of the pieces are browned. This is an essential step to the overall flavor and texture of the dish. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
make sure you diced the veggies into small pieces, that way every bite is vibrant and flavorful! Add the peppers, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and water chestnuts and cook about 5 minutes or until peppers start to become tender.
Add sauce and simmer on low heat until the turkey and veggies are evenly coated and everything is heated through.
Serve in lettuce leaves, on top of your favorite Asian salad, or over noodles or rice! top with crushed peanuts or sesame seeds.
Make ahead: The cooked chicken filling keeps very well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat just what you need and add a splash of chicken broth if the filling seems dry.
below is a staple in my asian inspired recipes. liquid aminos is a vegan, gluten-free, and lower in sodium alternative to traditional soy sauce. there are health benefits associated with consuming liquid aminos as they are the building blocks of proteins.
They’re very important for building muscle, regulating gene expression, cell signaling, and immunity.
There are two types of amino acids — essential and non-essential.
Your body can produce non-essential amino acids, but essential amino acids can only be obtained from your diet. enter- liquid aminos. even adding a couple tablespoons to your dish will help you reap the benefits.
