Lettuce Wraps

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This week I tried this recipe over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I am surprised by the different foods prepared by the women who contribute to the blog. Really good-looking stuff. I suppose I had a preconceived notion of Mennonites eating plain, simple dishes. There's quite a variety of food there -- stop by sometime.

These wraps were really good. My kids loved them, my husband loved them, and I really enjoyed the simple prep. What an easy dish (inexpensive, too!). And while I don't think it would qualify as real Chinese, it was close enough to get the idea, but far enough away that my kids ate it, no questions asked.

I made a few modifications, to add a little more authentic flavor. My changes are included in the recipe as written below. There was some talk between my husband and my high schooler about wishing it had been chicken and maybe some chopped peanuts next time. I think I'll try 100% white meat ground turkey next time as a happy medium. Also -- I was a little confused by the term "steamed fried noodles." I could find no such product at the store. I did find some stir-fry noodles, made in China, which I used. They were fine but really not much different than Ramen. I might try Ramen next time (you just add them crunchy).

Lettuce Wraps

1 large head iceberg lettuce (or butter lettuce)
1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
2 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. chicken broth
2 T. soy sauce
1 t. dark sesame oil
2 or 3 cups steam fried noodles
1 bottle hoisin sauce

Core head of lettuce.
Hold upside down under cold, running water;
gently pull the leaves away from the core, one at a time.
Each leaf will form a natural cup.
Remove excess water from leaves and chill in refrigerator until needed.

Brown ground beef in heavy skillet.
Add ginger, garlic, peppers, carrot and onion.
Fry until veggies are tender.
Add chicken broth and
sprinkle with soy sauce and sesame oil.
Add the steam fried noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes longer
(noodles should still be crunchy).
Transfer mixture to serving bowl.

Place bowl on table, alongside a plate of lettuce leaves and bowl of hoisin sauce.
To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf
and top with hoisin sauce.
Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito
and eat with your fingers. Yum!



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