Asian Lettuce Wraps

I love how you can sometime re-discover old recipes. These used to be in regular meal rotation in our house. They are so delicious and the girls love to make their "lettuce tacos." I had a friend over earlier this week for a Mommy Playdate and I knew this would be the perfect meal. It's so yummy, but not too heavy. Served with a side of fruit, it makes a great lunch. For dinner we usually add rice and shrimp soup making it a nice hearty dinner. Delicious, kid friendly and super easy to make...a trifecta of meals!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Source: All Recipes 

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken or pork...whatever you like best)
Boston Bib or butter lettuce leaves
1T cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1T soy sauce
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2t minced pickled ginger
1T rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
1 (8oz) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2t Asian (dark) sesame oil



Directions

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not to tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground meat in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, sesame seed oil and cooked meat; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito.

ENJOY!