Asian Lettuce Wraps

On the theme of Asian food:  After making the Asian Onion Soup we had these delightful Asian Lettuce wraps and a side of garlic steamed rice.  This is another recipe that I discovered on allrecipes.com.  It was easy to eat.  I also made a dipping sauce that reviewers said worked nicely.  It added extra spice for the adults (and my 6 year old son who likes spicy foods)– don’t worry it is not overpowering.  Another change I made was that I added grated carrot to the meat mixture.  It added extra color and flavor to the dish. You could easily substitute pork or ground turkey for the ground beef.

You might be scratching your head at some of the ingredients wondering where to get them.  The answer lies with Target!   They have Asian ingredients like Sesame oil, pickled ginger etc.

Asian Lettuce Wraps - adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 6-8

• 16 Boston, Bibb, or Romaine lettuce leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
• 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• Asian chile pepper sauce (optional) ( I used Chili Garlic Sauce)
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

To prepare the meat mixture: Begin with browning the ground beef and onions in oil in a large pot over high heat. When the meat has cooked, drain the fat.  Add remaining ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes longer.  While the meat is cooking prepare the sauce (extra on side if desired)

Extra Sauce:

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar,
• 1 Tbsp chile garlic sauce
• Green onions, thinly sliced (green part only)

To serve: Place large lettuce leaves on your plate and spoon some of the meat filling into the lettuce leaves.  Wrap and enjoy.

Notes:  This is a quick and easy dish that is ready in minutes once you have your ingredients assembled.

For the garlic rice: bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil.  Add garlic flakes to the broth.  Add 1 cup Jasmine rice.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Turn heat off and leave covered another 15 minutes.  Serve with Asian Lettuce Wraps.

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Asian Onion Soup

I love the onion soup they serve at Benihana and after a search online to find a good copy cat of the recipe, I promptly made some for tonight’s dinner.  It turned out great and was really easy to prepare too!  My kids complained that there was not enough for seconds.  It tells me something when my kids want more.  I have a feeling I will be making this again in the near future.

Meemo’s Kitchen was the website where I found the recipe.  I did not make too many changes to it.

Asian Onion Soup – adapted from Meemo’s Kitchen

Serves 6

Soup Ingredients:

• 4 cups canned chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 4 inch stalks
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt

Fried Onions:

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced into rings and separated
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying

Additional ingredients for soup bowls:

• 6 medium mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced (green part only)

To make the soup: Pour the chicken broth and water in a large saucepan.  Add onion, celery, carrots, and salt.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to medium and allow to simmer for 15-30 minutes.  Remove the onions, celery, and carrots from the broth.

While the soup is cooking: prepare the french fried onion rings.  Dip the onion rings first in milk and then toss in flour to coat.  Bring a cup of oil to temperature over high heat and fry the onions until golden brown (in batches so you don’t crowd the pan).  Remove the fried onion rings with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on paper towels.

To serve: Place slices of fried onion rings in bottom of bowl along with a few green onion slices and sliced mushrooms.  Pour broth over them with a ladle.  Enjoy!

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