Lettuce Wraps

Over the Christmas holiday, Bryant and I went to a happy hour at PF Changs with his brother and sister-in-law.  I hadn't been to PF Changs in years but the one thing I remembered from their menu was their chicken lettuce wraps.  I had to get them and they were delicious.

However, perhaps I'm biased but as good as PF Changs' wraps are, I think mine are better.  So after we got back from the our New Year's trip (and I hadn't gone to the grocery store), this was the first dish I thought of.  We had almost all the ingredients on hand, making it a very simple meal to prepare. Serving it with a little brown rice just topped it off.

As sort of an unspoken New Years resolution, we also finally have a picture of our meal! However, we can't find the camera cord so I don't know how successful we'll be in 2011 of posting pictures...(Update: Finally found it! Just where I last placed it...under the couch.)

Lettuce Wraps
Taken from: Everyday Food
Serves 4

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large shallot (or 1/4 cup onion), finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey breast (you could also substitute ground chicken, pork or beef))
• 1 large head of Bibb, Boston, or Romaine lettuce, leaves separated
• grated carrot, chopped cabbage, thinly sliced green onions and sliced lime

-In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside.
-Heat a large skillet or wok over high until hot. Add oil and swirl to coat skillet. Add shallot, ginger, garlic, and chile and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

-Add turkey and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through, 5 minutes. Add half the sauce to skillet and stir until meat is cooked through, about 2 minutes. 

-Serve in lettuce leaves with remaining sauce, grated carrot, chopped cabbage, thinly sliced green onions and slices of lime.