Tasty Bites: Asian Lettuce Wraps

By Beth V

I still remember my first visit to PF Chang’s.  At the time, the dish that made the biggest impression on me was the Asian Lettuce Wraps. This dish was a new experience for me. It wasn’t long before I realized these could easily be duplicated at home. Looking online, I discovered that others had already created recipes that come very close to being PF Chang’s-worthy. This recipe will help you create an at-home meal that feels a little bit more creative and special.  And, did I mention the recipe is easy?

This recipe does require a few ingredients you may not always have on hand, but these sauces can be used to make many different home-cooked Asian-inspired meals. They also keep a very long time in the refrigerator. They are a good investment that yield a return of many deliciously-seasoned meals.

These can all be found in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. The first is rice vinegar - it is a nice, light, tangy vinegar that can be used to season in cooked foods and is also a staple in most homemade Asian dipping sauces. Next, reduced-sodium soy sauce - not as unusual, but I highly recommend the reduced-sodium version. Third, we have toasted sesame oil. There are two types of sesame oil, one that is lighter in color and a darker version that is toasted. The flavor difference is very dramatic. The toasted variety is much, much more flavorful and a few drops goes a very long way. It must be stored in the refrigerator, but it will keep for many, many months without going rancid. Just be sure to get the dark brown sesame oil. If you do not see toasted sesame oil in the Asian section, check the section with olive oil and other types of oil Lastly, we have hoisin sauce. Hoisin is a Chinese barbecue-type sauce. It is thick and sweet and adds nice complex flavors to dishes and sauces.

Start by sautéing a pound of ground chicken, beef or pork in a bit of oil until browned. Drain the cooked meat and set aside. We will use the same pan to build our sauce.

Here are the fresh, aromatic ingredients for this dish - chopped onion, minced garlic, minced ginger and chopped green onions.

The idea of working with fresh ginger can be a little intimidating, but once you begin using it, you will love the fresh flavor it gives to Asian dishes and many other types of dishes. Here is a great video that explains how to peel and grate fresh ginger.

For this recipe, I peeled about a 2-inch length of ginger. The video shows the ginger being grated with a standard kitchen grater. You could also use a microplane grater/zester to get a more finely-chopped product, or use a garlic press to quickly mince a small section of peeled ginger. Only peel the portion of the ginger you will be using for this recipe. Store the remaining unpeeled ginger in the refrigerator for another recipe.

Add a bit more oil to the pan and sauté the onion, stirring frequently, until just about tender. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger and vinegar to the onions, and stir, allowing to cook through for a few minutes. Add the meat back in and warm through.

Now stir in chopped water chestnuts and the chopped green onions. These add crunch, texture and nice color to the finished product. Finally, stir in the sesame oil. You want to add this at the very end so the sesame flavor does not cook out of the sauce.

Now you need to prepare some lettuce leaves to eat with this delicious filling. You can use butter (also called Bibb) lettuce leaves for smaller portions or iceberg lettuce for larger portions. Carefully peel off whole leaves, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. These make perfect little cups for your wraps. A fresh, delicious, healthy and beautiful dish!

I would highly recommend this easy Asian Dipping Sauce recipe to serve alongside these wraps. Yum! Just like the restaurant!

Enjoy!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 head butter lettuce (Bibb) or Iceberg Lettuce

1 pound lean ground chicken, beef or pork

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce (or more to taste)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon Asian (dark) sesame oil

1. Carefully rinse and pat dry the lettuce leaves and set aside.

2. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and brown the ground meat over medium-high heat until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the same pan and sauté onion, stirring frequently, until almost tender.

4. Add in the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and rice vinegar and allow to heat through. Stir the meat back into the sauce and warm through.

5. Off heat, add in the water chestnuts, green onions and sesame oil. Add additional soy sauce to taste.

6. Arrange lettuce leaves and filling on a platter. Serve with Asian Dipping Sauce.

Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages seven, four and one. She is married to Jason V (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, stepping over Legos, keeping peace among the kids, and enjoying the creative outlet of cooking.

Comments

[cecelia]

Can't wait ti try this. I actually have almost everythibg I need. This is worth the effort. I love this at PF Changs! Thanks Beth.

Cecelia

[Heather]

Yep, it's official - you are my new best friend.

[Duane]

YUM!

Can I eat it over rice though?

It's less rabbity then.

-DS

[Janice Chan]

Beth, I have tried making these before and couldn't figure out what was missing~ I didn't use the rice vinegar or the ginger and that was exactly what the problem was! Thank you so much, I am going to try these again this weekend, I hope!