Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps



by Weeknight Gourmet Guest Blogger Happy Farrow

Here’s another quick and delicious recipe.  I never thought to make lettuce wraps at home, but after discovering how easy they are to prepare, they’ve become a regular weeknight meal at our house.  I usually substitute carrots for cucumbers and add green onion, assembling as one would a taco, rather than mixing the vegetables and mint with the turkey.

*Making your own peanut sauce is easy enough, and homemade tastes so much better than bottled options.  For the lettuce wraps, I make a little less than half of the peanut sauce recipe and skip the food processor step (it all blends into a creamy consistency when added to the cooked turkey).

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Bon Appetit, August 2002
Yield:  4 servings

  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup purchased Asian peanut sauce*
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus additional soy sauce for dipping
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint plus 1/3 cup small mint sprigs
  • 12 large butter lettuce leaves

Heat peanut oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and sauté until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 7 minutes. Add peanut sauce, hoisin sauce, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce; heat through. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat in microwave or skillet, adding water by tablespoonfuls to moisten if necessary, before continuing.) Stir in cucumber and chopped mint. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer turkey mixture to medium bowl. Place mint sprigs and lettuce leaves on platter. To make wraps, spoon turkey mixture onto lettuce leaf, add a few mint sprigs, fold in sides over filling, and roll up. Pass additional soy sauce alongside wraps for dipping.

*Peanut Sauce
Tyler Florence
Yield:  3 cups

  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons red chili paste, such as sambal
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1/2 cup hot water

Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, red chili paste, brown sugar, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce, you may not need all of it.

Happy is freelance designer (http://www.happyfarrow.com/index.html) and lives in Boston with her husband James and daughter Cecily.



2 thoughts on “Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

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  • This looks great! I will try substituting tofu for the turkey since we are vegetarians. I love the idea of the peanut sauce. Thanks!

  • I tried this recipe last night for my book group meeting dinner. Several ladies wanted to eat light. I serve it with a orzo salad. The Asain Turkey lettuce wraps were a huge hit. Everyone wanted the recipe.

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