Thursday, July 10, 2014

Asian Lettuce Wraps


Every time I order lettuce wraps at a restaurant, I am reminded how simple they are, 
and have recently been whipping them up at home.  Here's how I like to do it.

Oh, and all the steps, up to eating, were done a day in advance. 

YumFest, right! 

Grab a head (or 2 or 3...) of bib lettuce in the produce section

 1 lb. ground turkey (93% lean is preferred) and
in a small bowl mix: 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce,
1 tablespoon sriracha and 2 tablespoons light brown sugar)

 Use a fine grater (I get out my zester) to finely grate
carrots (yield ~1 cup grated carrot)

 Pulverized goodness

Cook the turkey thoroughly, then stir in the sauce and
carrot (add more heat, sweet or sodium to the sauce to 
meet your liking.  I do think the measurements I gave
you are a good base though)

It's hard to find that cup of grated carrot, huh! 
Sneaky, sneaky!!

 Chop the zucchini and drop into a pot of boiling water
for 1-2 minutes.

 Remove from the boiling water and submerge
in an bowl of ice water, to stop the cooking.

 Turn the heat off the boiling water and drop
the mai fun noodles in the pot.  They will
sit in the hot water (off heat now), covered,
 for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, drain the noodles.

 This step is for sure not compulsory, but I think it adds
 a wonderful crunch and is super simple.  If you want the
crunch, but aren't up for this step, use store bought 
crispy chow mein noodles.

I use my pizza wheel to make strips of wonton dough.
I find the packages of wonton wrappers in the 
produce section at the market.

 In a saucepan heat 2 inches of canola oil, test the temp
by dropping one strip in and watch it dance, if you will
 (I am not a seasoned deep fryer, but these are hard to screw up)

Use a metal tong (or spider skimmer) to remove from the oil 
when they are light golden brown in color. Place on a
plate with paper towels to drain.  

These can be made several days in advance, just store air tight.

 All the fixings for delicious Asian Lettuce Wraps:
Bib lettuce (cut off the base and cleaned very well and
wrapped in towel to dry), the ground-seasoned turkey, wonton
strips, jullienned sweet peppers, blanched zucchini, sliced
scallions, lightly salted cashews, cooked mai fun noodles.

Also, if you want whip up some more sauce, that was stirred into the
ground turkey, for topping the wraps.

Enjoy!!!  

xo.

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