Sometimes when I think of lettuce cups I think "meh - not a very exciting dish." But THESE lettuce cups are exciting! They're so exciting you'll want to make them again and again. This recipe is my version of "Lemongrass Pork Lettuce Cups" by Chef Elden Rodrigues but adapted since I could not find a "clean" lemongrass sauce at my local store, nor a "clean" ground pork. Often times when we shop and purchase meat we don't really read the ingredients label because it should just be meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc...) right? Wrong! Not always the case, I've found often times with ground meats there can be additives like preservatives, color enhancers, the list goes on. So in this case, I found organic ground turkey and used this in place of pork, and I made my own lemongrass "sauce" as well. The term sauce is used loosely here as I didn't really blend all the flavoring ingredients but instead added them separately, you'll see below. Give these lettuce cups a whirl, I promise they will not bore you, they are packed with flavor and make a great snack, appetizer, or light dinner.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
8 oz water chestnuts, canned, small dice
6 small/medium fresh shitake mushrooms, chopped (can use dried if you hydrate then squeeze to remove excess liquid)
2 stalks of fresh green onion
2 thin stalks of fresh lemongrass, finely minced
3 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 1/4 Tsp ginger, finely minced
4 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2-2 Tbsp yuzu extract
2 tsp brown sugar
Dash of mirin (cooking wine)
Salt & pepper
1 bunch of romaine lettuce, whole leaves washed and dried
Directions:
1. In a small dish prepare the "wet" part of the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, yuzu extract, brown sugar and a dash of mirin, set aside.
2. Season ground turkey with salt and pepper and add it to a large frying pan. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, should be slightly browned.
3. Add in water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms and green onion, stir and cook for 1-2min.
4. Add in garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, stir and cook 2-3min.
5. Add in the "wet" sauce and cook for 1-2min on medium-high heat, stiring.
6. Arrange lettuce on a plate and spoon filling into the lettuce cups, or serve filling separately in a "self-serve" style.
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