Asian Lettuce Wraps & Fried Rice

I could kiss my friend, Angie, for introducing me to one of my new favorite blogs, Our Best Bites.  They have a TON of recipes as well as other craft ideas that I am dying to try.  Anyway, Angie had posted (on Facebook) a recipe for chicken lettuce wraps about two weeks ago and I knew that I was going to make them.  Man, I love me some chicken lettuce wraps.  I love PF Chang's version best, but since I doubt I can find a PF Chang's anywhere in Europe, I figured this recipe would help take the edge off of this serious craving. 

Well, it did--even if I did have to used ground turkey instead of ground chicken since the commissary doesn't sell it.  I may have to go off-post for ground chicken next time.  I made the lettuce wraps last Saturday.  My husband raved about them.  They sure were yummy and so easy to make.

{Asian Lettuce Wraps}

Click here for recipe.

The next day, I decided I still wanted more Asian food, so I pulled up a fried rice recipe (also via Our Best Bites) and paired it up with some pot stickers (that I'd purchased from the commissary in the frozen section--yeah, I was being lazy) that I'd boiled and then lightly pan fried.  Oh my gosh....talk about ultimate comfort and with minimal effort.  My favorite kinds of recipes.

{Fried Rice}

Click here for recipe.

Anyway, since last weekend, a close friend of mine had found and forwarded PF Chang's chicken lettuce wraps recipe to me.  Yipppeeee! When I make them, I'll be sure to let you guys know how it turned out!

Beef Lettuce Wraps

Believe it or not, I have been doing a lot of cooking, I just haven't had time to post what I've been making for dinner lately.  Sorry about that!

I actually made these beef lettuce wraps last night and ummm....they were fantastic.  Both my hubby and I felt like we were eating out at a Vietnamese restaurant--one of our favorites.  The beef is marinated in a brown sugar/lime/fish sauce that is a perfect complement to the mint and cilantro that it's rolled up with.  And it was a very light meal...from Cooking Light, of course!

This is something I'd definitely make for a crowd...either as an appetizer or a main dish.  I'm also going to try it with chicken to see how it turns out!

Beef Lettuce Wraps

by Cooking Light



Cooking spray

1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce

4 teaspoons dark brown sugar

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

8 Bibb lettuce leaves

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cup torn fresh mint

1/2 cup matchstick-cut English cucumber

1/2 cup torn fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Place steak in pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

2. Combine juice, fish sauce, sugar, and jalapeño in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Reserve 4 teaspoons juice mixture in a small serving bowl. Pour remaining juice mixture in a large bowl; add steak, tossing to coat. Place 1 1/2 ounces beef in center of each lettuce leaf; top each with 2 tablespoons onion, 2 tablespoons mint, 1 tablespoon cucumber, and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Sprinkle evenly with peanuts; roll up. Serve with reserved juice mixture.

I'm just now noticing that I never added the red onion!  Oh well, it was still delicious!

Enjoy!