Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Asian-spiced turkey lettuce wraps. The post holiday, delicious, quick and easy meal that will help you squeeze back into your skinny jeans.

$Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps \\ Recipe from PassTheSushi.com$ After last weeks sugar explosion here at Pass the Sushi and my smorgasbord of ham and mac and cheese yesterday, I felt like I owe it to my self (and my cholesterol level) to try to make something healthy. Shock and awe from anyone who knows me, I know. But really, we were a little on the wild and crazy side, so now its time to make nice with those new pair of jeans - just in time for warmer weather. Cuz Lord knows that bikini is out of the question.

I saw these Asian-spiced turkey lettuce wraps on The Novice Chef and knew I had to try them. I wanted to serve these with rice, just to break things up a little, but for the two of us and our head of lettuce, this was enough; no rice needed.

$Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps \\ Recipe from PassTheSushi.com$

Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps

From The Novice Chef

Ingredients:

$Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps \\ Recipe from PassTheSushi.com$ 1 tablespoon canola oil
1 lb extra lean ground turkey (or any other ground meat)
1 medium shallot
1 garlic clove, minced
3 scallions
2 large stalks lemongrass-tender pale inner core only, minced
½ cup chopped cashews
1 teaspoonful seasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoonful garlic chili sauce
small handful of cilantro, chopped
butter lettuce leaves, for serving

Preparation:

In a large wok or non stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook for 15 seconds, then add ground turkey. Break up the meat with a spoon, tossing/stirring often, until meat is cooked through.

Once the turkey is cooked through, check and see if there is a lot of grease left over in the bottom of the pan. If there is, drain the meat, and then re-add to the wok. If not, skip to the next step.

Add the scallions, lemongrass, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and garlic chili sauce. Toss well to ensure everything is coated. Allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes and remove from heat and sprinkle with cilantro.

To serve, separate leaves of lettuce and wash with warm water; pat dry. Spoon the turkey mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf and eat like a taco!

I'm lucky to have an Asian market right behind my storefront, where I get things like lemongrass and hoisin sauce. If you don't have a specialty market near you, don't worry. I've seen a lot of growth of the Asian food aisles at normal grocery stores, and even in big box stores. The prices are a bit more then what I pay where I go, but it works in a pinch.

$Asian-Spiced Turkey Lettuce Wraps \\ Recipe from PassTheSushi.com$