What's the best lettuce for lettuce wraps?

Crispy iceberg is light and refreshing (and we love it for a wedge salad), but we opted more heartier lettuces for these recipes, like romaine and butterhead lettuce . Smoother butterhead lettuce leaves are ideal for wrapping as they're super flexible and wide enough wrap around and keep all the toppings inside.

What is lettuce wrap sauce made of?

Ingredients for Chicken Lettuce Wraps The key ingredient is hoisin — a sweet, salty, slightly tangy, spiced sauce that's like the Chinese equivalent to American barbecue sauce. Here, I mix it with some soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil to make a sticky glaze for the chicken in our wraps.

Is eating lettuce wraps healthy?

Lettuce is the perfect way create a healthy and low carb wrap . These Asian-inspired Chicken Lettuce Wraps are full of fiber and flavor. Wraps are a simple and easy lunch option that have the potential to be super healthy.

What kind of lettuce is in Korean lettuce wraps?

You can use any lettuce you like for these wraps, but I'd recommend crispier lettuce leaves, such as romaine , as they hold together better. Tip: If you want to make these wraps more substantial, you can add a spoonful of cooked rice to each wrap.

What is hoisin sauce made of?

Ingredients. The key ingredient of hoisin sauce is fermented soybean paste . Some hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as sweet potato, wheat and rice, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar, salt, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring agents.

What does hoisin sauce taste like?

Hoisin sauce tastes salty and tangy . It has a similar flavor profile to barbecue sauce, but with distinctly different flavors. It may taste slightly meaty or sweet. Hoisin sauce served alongside classic Peking duck.

What is the best lettuce to replace wraps?

Iceberg lettuce offers a crisp texture and sturdy leaves, suitable for both wraps and sandwiches. Romaine lettuce is another popular choice; its long leaves and crunchy texture are perfect for sandwiches and wraps.

What to eat with Korean lettuce wraps?

Noodles or rice make an excellent side dish for chicken lettuce wraps and they are also a great option if you would like to serve your lettuce wrap filling without lettuce or assembling. Simply enjoy it over a bed of cauliflower rice, brown rice or white rice!

What side dishes go well with wraps?

The best side dishes to serve with wraps are French fries, crispy green beans, onion rings, avocado fries, salsa, corn on the cob, Brussels sprouts with bacon, coleslaw, sweet potato fries, Greek salad, hummus, chips and guacamole, quinoa salad, pasta salad, grilled vegetables, and fruit salad.

What pairs well with lettuce?

Chives and Garlic : Both are good companion plants for lettuce because they help to deter pests, such as aphids. Cilantro: Cilantro is a good companion plant for lettuce because it attracts beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps and hoverflies, which eat aphids.

How do you eat Chinese lettuce?

You can eat it raw in a salad, stir fry briefly or add to hot food such as a pilaf . Don't cook for more than a few minutes or it will lose its crunchy texture. Kept in the fridge in a plastic bag it will last for up to three weeks. Add to pilafs last minute.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (Easy and Yummy Recipe!)

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Say hello to these yummy and easy Asian Lettuce Wraps!

Asian Lettuce Wraps are fun appetizers where flavorful ground pork (or ground chicken) is wrapped around fresh, crunchy leafy greens.

They are low-carb, delicious, and can be eaten as a light main course or lunch as well.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (Easy and Yummy Recipe!) - Joyous Apron (1)

Love Asian food? Don’t forget to also check out some of my other favorites: Beef Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef), Tom Yum Fried Noodles, General Tso Shrimp and Miso Noodle Soup.

Table of Contents

Easy and Healthy Lettuce Wraps

Spring is around the corner, I can feel it. Living in Austin, Texas, winter isn’t really a thing. I say that because I used to live in Ohio. Even when I lived in Tennessee I can claim winter as a thing. But Austin, Texas? Winter is really not a thing. 😉

But even though winter may not be a real thing, I am still glad that the “colder” weather is going bye-bye, and Spring is showing its signs. I know that because we spent this past weekend mowing the grass and removing weeds from our lawn that are springing everywhere.

After those three long hours cleaning up our yard, I am proclaiming that, at least for me, SPRING IS HERE.

I was looking back at old posts of mine, and realized I felt the exact same way around this time last year. I am starting to crave for Spring-like food. Easy, fresh, lighter, delicious Spring-like food.

This is coming from the girl who spent the first nineteen years of her life in a tropical country, where spring, summer, autumn, AND winter is not a thing. Well, maybe summer is in fact a thing. Summer ALL YEAR LONG is the thing.

But back then, I didn’t even know there was such thing as Spring-like food. All foods – soups, stews, salads, greens, were pretty much eaten all year round in hot, humid 85-100 degree whether.

Funny how we start associating foods to the seasons when there is a seasonal change. It does make the food-making and food-eating process more fun, and I do love the anticipating a new set of foods.

All that to say, I have totally adapted to the seasonal food scene, and cannot wait for Spring food.

I appreciate you handing around to hear my musings about the weather and seasonal foods and me mowing my lawn. 🙂

Ingredients

My first exposure to Asian Lettuce Wraps is at PF Chang’s. It is a popular menu item at the famous Chinese American chain that can be found all over the United States.

This is not a true copycat of the PF Chang’s version, because it has been a loooong time since I have had their lettuce wraps. I do think this tastes slightly different.

But dare I say this? I think it is better. I like the sweet, savory umami flavor that this recipe produces. This recipes calls for lean ground pork, but feel free to use ground chicken or ground turkey if you prefer.

I do think ground pork produces a richer, deeper flavor than chicken and turkey, but the sauce is so flavorful you cannot go wrong with whichever protein you use.

In the ground pork filling, we are also adding shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts to add to the texture and flavors. I used canned water chestnuts, and drained all the liquid because dicing up the water chestnuts.

If you bought dried shiitake mushrooms, you will have to soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes until they become soft.

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And of course the sauce. The sauce is a thicker sauce that clings to the meats, mushrooms and water chestnuts. Our goal is to not produce runny sauce. That is why cornstarch is involved to thicken it.

Along with cornstarch, it calls for fairly easily-found ingredients. You can find them in the Asian aisle in most grocery stores. They are soy sauce, oyster (flavored) sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, ginger powder, garlic, onions, water and dark soy sauce (optional).

Even if you don’t like oyster (I don’t), don’t be afraid of oyster (flavored) sauce. It is very common in many Asian/Chinese dishes – in fact you most likely had it if you had Chinese food!

Dark soy sauce is optional if you cannot find it. It adds an extra depth in flavor, and also darkens the color of the meat, but if you cannot find it, it is totally okay to omit. My guess is this is also most likely the hardest ingredient to find in a regular store.

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How to make Asian Lettuce Wraps

In addition to the ingredients mentioned, you will need a large skillet. I typically like using non-stick skillets because they are easier to handle.

Before sautéing the ingredients, I like to combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. This way the cornstarch is fully dissolved and all the sauce ingredients are combined well before adding it to the skillet.

Then let the sautéing begin! It really is as simple as that, and the sautéing process goes very quickly as well. Once that is done, add the filling to the lettuce. I like buying either butter lettuce or romaine for this.

Last and certainly not least, garnish with green onions. Feel free to add some red pepper flakes if you like a little kick to your Asian Lettuce Wraps.

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How to store leftovers

If there are leftovers, store the meat filling separately from the lettuce in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Storing them separately will prevent lettuce from becoming soggy. These keep very well as leftovers!

More Asian/ Asian-inspired Recipes

Garlic Edamame
Malaysian Curry Puff
Slow Cooker Asian Shredded Pork
Asian Salmond Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing
Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
Kung Pao Shrimp
Asian Peanut Chicken Salad
Simple Thai Noodle Bowl
Baked Cream Cheese Wontons
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Chinese BBQ Pork and Bok Choy Rice Bowl
Sticky and Crispy Asian Chicken Wings (by Kitchen Sanctuary!)

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