Peanutty Asian Lettuce Wraps

   

I love lettuce wraps.  You can get all the yummy goodness without the bread.  Don't get me wrong.  I love bread and tortillas, but I am trying to avoid them.  I found this recipe while roaming through my old recipe box and made a batch for us.  It is wonderful, easy and so delicious.  There are a lot of ingredients, but most of them are just measured out and there's not a lot of chopping to do.  In fact, everything came together more quickly than I expected. 

Peanutty Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey
1/2 cup shredded carrot
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
4 garlic gloves, minced
1 can 8 oz. water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh snow peas
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
3 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
12 Bibb lettuce leaves

   

In a large fry pan, cook the turkey and carrot over medium until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain the meat.  Add the ginger and garlic, cook one minute longer.

   

While the meat is cooking, chop the water chestnuts.  And don't leave them out.  You can find them in the Asian or International food section.  If OUR grocery has water chestnuts and Hoisin sauce, YOURS is SURE to. 

   

I bought a piece of ginger root, but it was rotten clear through.  That will teach me to try to find a little piece.  Get a big hunk and then you will always be able to find a part that is good!  I just put in about 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and called it good.  But it would have been BETTER will REAL ginger root.

   

I used minced garlic from my fridge and then quickly sliced the green onions.  Now, our grocery did not have snow peas.  Except mixed in with other vegetables with frozen stir fry veggies.  I bought some frozen sugar snap peas and just thinly sliced then.  I will use the rest in another recipe. It is back in the freezer, so no rush.

   

After you have drained the meat, add everything else except the lettuce leaves.  And speaking of lettuce leaves, our grocery ALSO did not have Bibb lettuce.  Sheesh!  That's OK.  I substituted Romaine heart leaves and it worked great.  So feel free to substitute.  I might have used head lettuce, but we were shopping on a Sunday and they looked gross and brown.  Not fond of our grocery!

   

If you are very careful, you can fill the lettuce leaves, roll them up and eat the wraps like a taco or burrito.  If you are sloppy, you will get a few bits dribbled on your plate and then you will need a fork.  It will be yummy no matter how you do it.

   

Don't leave out any of the ingredients.  The Hoisin adds a sweetness you need to counter the peanut butter.  The ginger and the water chestnuts add some crunch.  So good.  And the turkey makes it low in fat.  We both ate too much and still have leftovers.