Try these fun, delicious Asian beef lettuce wraps for a fresh and healthy twist on your usual menu!
Apart from being a shrill, shouting TV chef, Gordon Ramsay has long been a big influence in my cooking. The softer side of him is evident in many of his Britain based shows. In my new favorite, Ultimate Cookery Course, he highlights his love of simple, flavorful ingredients and the amazing meals they make. Watching it makes me want to gnaw my arm off, but hey, it’s a good way to get inspired!
In a recent episode, he stirred up some Asian beef lettuce wraps that got both me and the mister drooling! They were sweet and spicy, fresh and tangy, and just what we needed to balance all the comfort food I’ve been cooking up.
Here’s what ya gotta do… Into a sizzling hot pan, toss in bell peppers and onions, add in the beef and get it nice and browned. Slip in a scrumptious combination of garlic, soy, hoisin and chili sauces, rice wine vinegar and fragrant fresh ginger.
The aroma is amazing! Commence arm gnawing.
Pile it high in a big bowl and plop it in the center of a bunch of crisp lettuce leaves. Serve it with a bowl of your favorite rice and you have yourself a mouthwatering dinner… and leftovers for lunch! These lettuce wraps make for a delicious way to switch up a mundane menu and inspire you to cook with simple yet exotic flavors!
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Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps
Yield: Serves 4 (3 wraps each)
Ingredients:
12 leaves lettuce (iceberg, romaine, Boston or green leaf)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1-2 Tbsp. chili sauce (such as Sambal Oelek*)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon honey
4 green onions, chopped
Directions:
Gently rinse lettuce leaves and pat dry, careful not to tear them. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add bell pepper and onion, cook 3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook 5 minutes, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Drain grease and return pan to stovetop; reduce heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in garlic, soy sauce, hoisin and chili sauces, ginger, rice wine vinegar and honey. Cook until sauce has thickened, 3-4 minutes. Stir in green onions.
Spoon meat mixture into a medium bowl and place on a large serving platter. Arrange lettuce leaves around the bowl and serve.
Enjoy!
* This is a thick red paste with medium-high spice, made from red chilies, vinegar and salt. It can be found in the Asian or ethnic sections of most grocery stores.
Adapted from Food.com
These look fab, Georgia! There’s nothing I like more than a lettuce wrap!
Love that these sound do flavourful but aren’t too heavy – definitely my favourite kind of food!
loooove lettuce wraps, such a great meal. these look so yummy!
This looks delicious!! I’ve never made lettuce wraps before, but the colorful, vibrant photos make me want to try these. Just curious, did you use honey when you made these? It is mentioned in the instructions, but not in the ingredient list. Thank you!!
Oh, love these flavors!
Who doesn’t love lettuce wraps and these ones look great!
I love lettuce wraps. These look wonderful!
These look simple and delicious! I got hooked on lettuce wrap years and years ago after having them at PF Changs but have never made them at home. Thanks for posting!
The pictures are beautiful, not to mention downright tantalizing and appetizing. I would love to have one of these wraps sitting in front of me right now. It certainly wouldn’t last long :)
I really love lettuce wraps. These flavors are some of my favorites, too! Gorgeous shots, Georgia!
Lettuce wraps are such fun vessels for some serious deliciousness…the filling here sounds super flavorful!
Lettuce wraps are such a great change to bread bread bread (although you know I love flour!) These look delicious. And I like how they are beef, not chicken. Can’t wait to try!
I would happily sit down with a fork and eat the beef right out of the pan. I love the pictures! So colorful.
lettuce wraps are so refreshing. these look perfect :)
i heart lettuce wraps!
Lettuce wraps are one of my favorite dishes ever! I haven’t tried a meat one yet so I’m incredibly excited to give this a try.
I love Gordan~~ and lettuce wraps are a weekly staple here at my house…
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I just made this for dinner tonight. The meat has so much flavor it transforms the boring lettuce. Thanks for posting this recipe, I will definitely be making this again and again!
Made these tonight — delish and easy! thanks :)
These were superb! so flavorful and tasty. Fairly quick to prepare. One problem, the recipe calls to add in honey but your ingredients does not list honey nor an amount so I just took a guess and added in a little less that a tablespoon of honey, which turned out nicely.
Georgia — July 20th, 2013 @ 7:48 am
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Najmah! Thanks for catching that error. It’s been fixed!
These were well received at dinner this evening. I used Thai garlic chili paste in place of chili sauce. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This looks fantastic! When I have no idea what to cook with mince – apart from the basic Bolognese – I’m going to try this! Thank you for sharing and inspiring me to try something new with mince
This is freakin off the hook! I just made this for dinner and it is amazing. The sauce alone is good enough to use in several dishes, especially General Tso’s. Love it and thanks for this great recipe!
I tried this recipe tonight, and it was an all-star hit. The flavors melded perfectly, and it’s a beautiful presentation. I served it with fresh butter lettuce because the leaves are so flexible. One of the things we’ve missed while on the South Beach Diet is tacos; these fill the bill. Bless your cotton socks!
I could not find hoisin sauce at the store today. Do you have a suggestion for a substitute or should I look at another store?
Georgia — August 15th, 2014 @ 12:11 pm
You should be able to find hoisin sauce in the Ethnic/Asian sections of most grocery stores. But if you can’t, you can look up recipes for how to make your own. Sorry, I don’t know of any substitutes.
Hi! Can this be prepared in a crock pot?
Georgia — September 2nd, 2014 @ 1:53 pm
It’s quicker & easier to prepare in a pan, but you could brown the beef in the pan first then add to the Crockpot with the remaining ingredients (minus green onions and lettuce) and simmer for 1-2 hours maybe.
I made these tonight. I left out the honey. They were amazing! Thank you
What is the calorie count of each serving?
Georgia — December 30th, 2014 @ 12:42 pm
Hi Kristen – You can look up the nutritional info for any of my recipes by entering the ingredients into this form: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I just made these for my family and they are amazing. I didn’t have the chili paste so I substituted for a teaspoon red pepper flakes. Rarely do i try a recipe exactly as written as actually like the taste, but these were amazing. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!!!