Asian

These lettuce wraps with Asian inspired flavors allow you the indulgence of delicious food without the extra calories of rice or bread. They can be made with ground turkey or chicken to further reduce the calorie count without compromising flavor. Fast and easy, they make a great weeknight dinner.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4-5

1 pound ground chicken, turkey or pork

3 Tablespoons of Hoisin sauce (check for gluten free options)

3 Tablespoons of soy sauce or Tamari for gluten free (low sodium is ok)

2 Tablespoons of rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Sriracha sauce (optional)

1 Tablespoon of Sesame oil

1 Tablespoon of Olive oil or Vegetable oil

1 Medium onion – diced

1-3 cloves of garlic – minced

1 Tablespoon of fresh grated ginger

1 can of sliced water chestnuts – drained

3 green onions – sliced thin

1 cup of frozen peas

1 cup of shredded (or sliced thin) napa or red cabbage (optional)

1 cup of bean sprouts (optional)

1-2 fresh hot peppers or 1 Bell pepper – sliced thin (optional)

¼ cup of fresh chopped cilantro (for garnish)

Large Leafy pliable lettuce leaves washed and dried (Boston Bibb / Butter lettuce work well)

Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together Hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and Sriracha. Set aside.

Add the olive oil to a large skillet or frypan over medium heat until shimmering, add onions and hot peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, and cabbage to the pan and cook for another minute.

Add ground meat, and cook, breaking up with a spoon until opaque and mostly cooked through.

Add peas and sauce to the pan and cook for 3 minutes.

Add bean sprouts water chestnuts to the pan and cook for 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and top with green onions.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of mixture into each lettuce leaf and sprinkle cilantro on top. Serve immediately.

Asian Style Rice Salad

This recipe was born from a need to make my husbands’ lunches more interesting. Although delicious, he was growing tired of the Italian pasta salad he’d been taking for lunch every day. At first, I was going to make this recipe with noodles, which would certainly work, but I decided to go with rice to vary his lunch even more. He loves very spicy food, but if you aren’t as impervious to heat as he, you may wish to leave out some or all of the optional ingredients. I’m sure some left-over cooked chicken would be a great addition to this recipe as well. Enjoy!

Asian Style Rice Salad

4-6 servings

1 cup uncooked rice – Jasmine, long grain, or brown

1 cup frozen peas thawed, or 1 cup sliced snow peas

¼ cup minced red onion

1-2 Tablespoons seeded & minced hot pepper -Jalapeno, Serrano, or Thai chili pepper (optional)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1 seeded & minced red bell pepper

2 teaspoons granulated garlic or 1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic

2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced or 1 teaspoon dried

1 eight ounce can of water chestnuts diced

1 bunch of scallions white part minced, and green part sliced thin (keep separate)

2 Tablespoons honey or Agave

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon Sriracha (optional)

¼ cup toasted sesame oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon of lime juice

3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro minced

Cook rice according to package directions and then spread onto a cookie sheet to cool to room temperature. While cooling, whisk crush red pepper, garlic, ginger, scallion whites, honey or Agave, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, black pepper, and lime juice in a bowl big enough to hold the rice and all the other ingredients. Once cooled, add rice to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Mix in the remaining ingredients reserving 1 Tablespoon of cilantro and the scallions greens for later. Chill covered for 2-4 hours. Stir before serving and garnish with reserved cilantro and scallion.

*For a higher protein and lower carb option, substitute Quinoa for rice in this recipe.

Easy Week-Night Asian Lettuce Wraps

Asian Style Rice Salad