Asian Lettuce Cups
In a dark, eerie time in the world, I am especially grateful for connection, creativity, and the craft of cooking! While we’re all practicing social distancing from our homes, it is a time I’m seeing so many people dust off their passion projects or embark on a brand new creative adventure as we’re being forced to slow down and be more present and intentional in each moment. What a beautiful thing! I also am so inspired by the collective connection we have on social media to lift each other up and support one another — our collective healing starts now! Breathe in…. let it out…. let’s cook!
This is the first recipe of my #CookingforCorona series where I’ll share fun and flavorful recipes with ingredients you’re likely to have on hand or could easily order online from amazon or your local grocery store’s pick-up service. Recipe numero uno — Chrissy Teigen-inspired Asian Lettuce Cups! These recipes are super customizable, so feel free to replace any of the ingredients with something similar you may have on hand.
What You Need
1 lb. ground chicken (you can use any type of ground meat or meat substitute you have here - ground turkey, pork, beef or bison, tempeh or tofu)
Large leaf lettuce such as romaine, ice burg, or butter lettuce
1 bell pepper - any color (I used red)
3-4 scallions
4-6 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp thai sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (if all you have is the ground spice that’s okay too)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil (if you have it - not essential)
OPTIONAL: 1 cup chopped mushrooms of any kind (I actually didn’t have any mushrooms on hand when making this so the IG Stories don’t include them)
OPTIONAL: Water chestnuts
OPTIONAL: Shredded carrots
Make It Happen
Start by prepping all your chopped items: garlic, ginger, bell pepper, scallions (separate the greens and whites), and mushrooms, carrots, and water chestnuts if you’re using them.
Next get your sauce ready: Mix the thai sweet chili, hoisin, soy sauce, ginger, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp. ginger, 2 tbsps vegetable oil, and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Add your ground meat to a mixing bowl and add 3 tbsps of the sauce. Combine well with hands or a fork.
Add 2 more tbsp of vegetable oil to a pan over medium to medium-high heat and begin browning the meat once the pan is good and hot.
TIP: once the meat is broken up and well on its way to being cooked, let it sit for a few minutes in between stirs so you get those crispy little brown spots here and there - that’s flavor city, baby.
Once the meat is cooked through, remove from pan and set aside on a plate. Then add the remaining ginger and garlic as well as the bell pepper - adding a drizzle more of oil if necessary. (This is also where you would add the chopped mushrooms and cook them down)
Cook for 2 - 3 minutes before adding the meat back into the pan with the remainder of the sauce and the scallion whites.
Mix well and cook for about 3 - 4 more minutes.
Assemble the lettuce cups by adding a scoop of the meat mixture into each little lettuce leaf, and top with sesame seeds and shredded carrots if you have them!
Enjoy!
