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These Asian Lettuce Wraps are extremely simple to make! Featuring seasoned ground meat piled in a crisp leaf of butter lettuce. Customizable with the toppings of your choice, this dinner is quick and easy – with only one pan to clean!
These Asian Lettuce Wraps are my kind of meal! They’re extremely simple to make and the kind of meat you choose to use is not really important. What matters is the flavor, and this dish is full of it!
I wanted to make these wraps similar to the ones you would typically order at a restaurant like the popular P.F. Chang’s. The chicken is seasoned with the perfect blend of Asian ingredients and the toppings can be completely decided by you; you can even use whatever you have leftover in the fridge! This is perfect low-stress dish to serve for any night of the week.
Ingredients
Keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card for FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!
- Sesame Oil – Regular or toasted!
- Protein – You can use ground chicken, ground turkey, extra lean ground beef or tofu!
- Ginger – I used freshly grated!
- Garlic – Fresh is always best! Minced.
- Vinegar – Rice wine vinegar.
- Soy Sauce – I used low sodium.
- Hoisin – A staple in Asian cuisine!
- Hot Sauce – Chili garlic sauce or sriracha work best.
- Green Onion – Chopped.
- Lettuce – Butter lettuce works best for these wraps.
- Peanuts – Chopped (Optional)
How to make Asian lettuce wraps
- Cook the Meat – Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up as you go until it’s fully cooked, 3-5 minutes.
- Add Ingredients – Add the garlic and ginger to the skillet. Stir and cook for 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Mix in the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, and half the green onion. Stir well and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Assemble Lettuce Wraps – Break leaves off the butter lettuce. Wash the leaves and dry them well. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture into your lettuce cup, and top with peanuts and some of the remaining fresh green onion.
How to serve
Lettuce wraps are so fun because you get to assemble them just how you like, with a variety of toppings! It’s a good excuse to play with your food. Once you’ve scooped your filling and toppings onto your lettuce cup, wrap ’em up and enjoy!
You can serve your lettuce wraps as an appetizer or depending on the toppings – a full meal!
Butter Lettuce
The butter lettuce is important because it has the perfect shape, flexibility and texture to allow you to serve your lettuce wraps with ease, while other types of lettuce can break and fall apart, leaving a mess.
Asian wraps typically use iceberg lettuce because it gives the dish a nice crispness, but in my opinion, I think it is hard to roll! Which is why I prefer using the butter lettuce.
What else can I add to my lettuce wraps?
The possibilities for toppings on your Asian lettuce wraps are endless! You can truly throw whatever you’d like on these, but some classic options would be:
- Water Chestnuts
- Cabbage
- Chickpeas
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Sticky Rice or Coconut Rice
- Bean Sprouts
- Cheese
- Cucumbers
- Peanut Butter Sauce
- Bell Peppers
- Sweet Potato
- Rice Noodles
- Shredded Carrot
- Hot Sauce
How to store leftovers
Store leftover filling in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Did you like this Asian inspired recipe? Try these!
- Asian Style Pepper Steak
- Asian Glazed Chicken Fingers
- Crockpot Asian Meatballs
- Easy Beef and Broccoli
- Orange Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Asian Chopped Chicken Salad
- Sesame Noodles
- Garlic Soy Chicken
- Sticky Chinese Chicken Wings
Asian Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil regular or toasted
- 1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey, extra lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- ⅓ cup green onion chopped
- 1 head butter lettuce
- ¼ cup peanuts chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up as you go until it's fully cooked, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the skillet. Stir and cook for 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Mix in the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, and half the green onion. Stir well and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Break leaves off the butter lettuce. Wash the leaves and dry them well. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture into your lettuce cup, and top with peanuts and some of the remaining fresh green onion.
Tips & Notes:
- Store leftover filling in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
