THAI TURKEY LETTUCE WRAPS

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INGREDIENTS

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

  •  1/3 cup fish sauce (see notes)
  •  1/3 cup rice vinegar (don’t use seasoned vinegar, which contains sugar)
  •  1 T Asian sesame oil
  •  3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (see notes)
  •  1 tsp sweetener (optional)

TURKEY MIXTURE INGREDIENTS:

  •  2 lb. ground turkey (see notes)
  •  2 tsp. finely minced garlic
  •  2 T grated fresh ginger root
  •  2 T Asian sesame oil
  •  4 tsp. rice vinegar
  •  2 tsp. soy sauce (see notes)
  •  1 T peanut oil

LETTUCE AND GARNISH INGREDIENTS:

  •  2 small cucumbers, cut in thin slices, then sliced into matchstick pieces
  •  1 cup chopped fresh herbs (see notes)
  •  16 small lettuce leaves

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INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Squeeze the ground turkey out of the wrapper into a bowl and add minced garlic, minced ginger root, Asian sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.
  2. Use your clean hands to combine those seasonings with the ground turkey.
  3. Heat the peanut oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the seasoned turkey, and cook over medium-high heat until any released water has completely evaporated and turkey is lightly browned.
  4. While turkey cooks, mix together the fish sauce, rice vinegar, Asian sesame oil, and red pepper flakes to make the sauce. (Some people like a teaspoon or two of sweetener in this sauce; taste and see if you want to add that.)
  5. Cut the cucumber into matchstick strips and chop herbs. We used Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut the basil into thin chiffonade strips, but if you’re using mint or cilantro you may prefer to just chop with a knife.
  6. Cut out the core of the lettuce heads and separate into leaves or cups. (Wash lettuce if needed.)
  7. When turkey is nicely browned, spoon turkey into lettuce pieces, top with some of the spicy sauce, cucumber matchsticks, and fresh herbs, and devour!

NOTES

 

I like Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) or Three Crabs Fish Sauce (affiliate link); if you’re not that used to fish sauce you might decrease the amount a little. Use more or less red pepper flakes to taste, the sauce was moderately spicy with this amount.

I used ground turkey; this can also be made with ground beef or ground chicken if you prefer. Use regular or low-sodium soy sauce; use Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link) if needed. We used thinly-sliced fresh basil but you can also use chopped mint or even chopped cilantro for the fresh herbs.

This recipe adapted slightly from The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook (affiliate link).

 

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Yield

8

Serving Size

1Amount Per ServingCalories386Total Fat27gSaturated Fat6gUnsaturated Fat18gCholesterol120mgSodium1111mgCarbohydrates6gFiber2gSugar2gProtein31g

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