Lettuce Wraps

Another boring topic that I spend a lot of time thinking about is food.  I really don't enjoy making dinner every night but have an enormous guilt complex if I don't.  Thanks mom.  I really don't know how my mom made a full dinner for five people, almost completely from scratch, day after day, main course and sides, without fail.  I'm starting to see the value of rice every night...  I wonder if my family would go for it..

Anyway speaking of rice, I've got a great recipe I thought I'd share.  I was going to email it to my sisters but then I thought, why not share the love on my blog!  The recipe combines my favorite elements:  quick prep, basic and easy ingredients, quick cooking time, and easy clean up.  Oh, and satisfying and delicious to eat.  That's important too I've found.  Here we go:

 
Stir-Fried Turkey in Lettuce Wraps, from Martha Stewart's Food Magazine

Serves 4, time: 20 minutes (30 if you're like me)

1/4 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large shallot, 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 (93% lean)
2 large heads Bibb, Boston, or iceberg lettuce, leaves separated

1.  In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.  Set sauce aside.
2.  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 mintues.  Serve in lettuce leaves with remaining sauce.

Easy, right?  I add some water chestnuts chopped small for some crunch.  Also I used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce because it's what I had.  And I wasn't thinking and served it by itself with some grapefruit on the side but make some rice and it'll carry a bit further.  Or farther, I can never remember which.  Maybe even add rice to the wrap to stretch the meal.  Hope you like it!  And thanks for reading.  Just trying to share a bit of my life with you guys :)


Amiee