Turkey Lettuce Wraps

So every once in a while I crave food that I call "city" food.  Food unlike the southern cooking I grew up with.

Do you ever get a craving for a certain food?  Well I do and often it's lettuce wraps.  I love the ones at PF Chang's and set out trying to find a substitute that could be made at home.  I tried all sorts of yucky frozen, so called, "chicken filling for lettuce wraps"...blah - they didn't compare.

So I developed my own recipe that is quick and totally AWESOME!

I thought I had died and gone to heaven last night.
No really, I swear I heard harps when I took a bite out of these babies!

Here's the skinny of it (literally, they're healthy!)

You'll need:  oil, ground turkey, Bibb lettuce, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, hot chili sauce, sesame oil, and water chestnuts.

First, put about 1T of oil in a hot skillet.  Chop a medium onion up and throw it in the skillet with some  minced garlic.

Add the ground turkey and cook until brown, crumbling in to small pieces.

As the turkey is cooking separate and wash your lettuce leaves.  Aren't these pretty!

Once the turkey is brown, make the stir fry sauce by adding the ginger, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce (low sodium if you have it), hoisin sauce, and the chili pepper sauce.  (You could use hot pepper flakes if you don't have this handy).

Mix the meat with the sauce until covered and cook a minute or two.

Chop about 1/2 of an 8oz can of water chestnuts.  You want them more bite size.  Add them to the turkey mixture and stir them to cover with the sauce as well.  Cook about 1 min to heat them through.  Now add the sesame oil.  This is such a great flavor enhancer...don't skip this part!

That's it for the meat.  Spoon a portion right down the middle of each leaf.  Eat it like a taco!

HEAVEN!!!  Please try these...I promise you'll hear harps...well maybe not, but you'll love them!

You can also make a quick dipping sauce by using the same sauce ingredients but changing the proportions.

Here is is.  Just spoon it over the meat once you have it plated. (Be careful this sauce is a little hot!)

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 head of Bibb lettuce separated in to leaves
1 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion -- chopped
2 T. minced garlic
1 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 t. minced ginger
1 T. rice wine vinegar
2 t. chili pepper sauce
4 oz sliced water chestnuts -- drained, chopped
2 t. sesame oil

Directions:

Add 1 T. oil to a hot skillet.  Add onion and garlic, cook 5 min until tender.  Add ground turkey, stirring often to break up the meat.

Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain.

Add soy sauce, ginger, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar and chili sauce. Stir meat to cover with sauce.  Cook another minute.  Chop water chestnuts and add to the skillet.  Cook another minute to heat through. Stir in sesame oil.

Spoon meat mixture down the center of the lettuce leaf.   

Dipping Sauce

2 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

2 T hoisin sauce

1 T. hot chili sauce

Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together.  Spoon over turkey mixture on lettuce leaves.