This post marks the official launch of “Taste Tested Tuesday”! Each Tuesday, we’ll post a recipe (or two) that the Thorpe family enjoys. Stop by and see what’s cooking in our kitchen. Perhaps you’ll find something new to try with your family.
Last month we were able to enjoy a much needed date night. We left the girls with their beloved babysitter and headed off to have dinner at PF Chang’s. One of our favorite things on the menu is the Lettuce Wraps, seasoned chicken in a stir fry sauce spooned into lettuce leaves and eaten as you would a taco or burrito.
After our visit to PF Chang’s, I craved lettuce wraps! Since running over to PF Chang’s whenever a craving hit was not an option, I decided to search the internet for lettuce wrap recipes so we could have them at home whenever we craved them. It didn’t take long before I found a couple of PF Chang style lettuce wrap copycat recipes. Over the next few weeks, I tested them and found them to be pretty tasty. As usual, I tinkered with the recipes and edited them to suit our family’s tastes. Now we have a yummy lettuce wrap recipe our whole family enjoys. (Yes, that means even Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum love them!)
Don’t let the ingredients intimidate you. You can find most of them in the ethnic or international foods aisle of your large chain supermarket. If you don’t have sherry or would prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can substitute apple cider. Sometimes the grocery stores in my area don’t carry garlic and red chile paste. Most of the time I substitute with a spicy szechuan/sczchwan sauce from the ethnic foods/international aisle of the grocery store. I make our lettuce wraps with ground turkey instead of pork or chicken and they taste great. Also, feel free to add whatever else you like to the meat mixture (such as mushrooms or shredded carrots).
Asian Style Lettuce Wraps:
Filling:
1 pound ground turkey
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, chopped
¼ cup onions, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1-2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce
Stir Fry Sauce:
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Prepare the stir fry sauce by combining the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sherry, oyster sauce, water, sesame oil, sugar, and cornstarch. Set the mixture aside.
Brown the ground turkey in a large pan. Once browned, add the onions, water chestnuts, and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes until thickened.
To serve, separate the lettuce leaves, place a spoonful of the turkey mixture into the cup, wrap, and eat.
© 2008 – 2014, Andrea Thorpe. All rights reserved.
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