Chinese Lettuce Wraps
This is my non-authentic take on San Choy Bao. I love the salty, umami filling with the cool, crisp butter lettuce and crunchy water chestnuts. It comes together quickly and is perfect for sharing. Pile up the lettuce and filling, and let everyone scoop and wrap as they go. It’s light enough to pair with rice or another side, but honestly, these hit every texture and flavor note for me, so I'm happy eating as many as it takes until I'm satisfied.
~ Camilla
Harlan’s Food For Thought
The following are the macros for this week's meal, per serving. 4 servings per meal:
Carbohydrate: 18g
Fat: 19g
Protein: 20g
Calories: 325
This meal has a conservative number of calories and a good balance of macronutrients. The meal is constructed with whole, single-ingredient foods.
Today I will talk a little bit about a food rating system called the "Eat Well Guide" or EWG, an online database that assigns a "score" to different foods we eat. Ratings are assigned using 3 criteria: Nutritional value, Ingredients, and degree of processing. Based on the previously mentioned criteria, this online database has over 80,000 foods with assigned scores. Foods are given a 1-10 score and the lower the score, the healthier the food. For example, a fresh, whole food with one ingredient will generally score a 1 whereas a highly processed food with many ingredients can yield a score of 10.
Below is a link to the website, which will allow you to view different foods and their associated ratings.
Always remember that what we eat provides information for our genome. This means that food has the ability to influence our genetic blueprint and will influence how the body works, down the cellular level.
~ Harlan Wolff, Registered Nurse and Clinical Educator
Chinese Lettuce Wraps
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
For the sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
5 cloves garlic, grated
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
For the filling
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lb (450g) ground turkey (or substitute with ground pork/chicken)
4 oz beech mushrooms, halved crosswise (or substitute with baby bella mushrooms)
8 oz can water chestnuts, diced
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced (reserve some for garnish)
For serving
Butter lettuce leaves, separated and washed
Instructions:
Prepare the Sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.
Cook the Filling
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the ground turkey, breaking it apart as it cooks. Cook for 2–3 minutes until mostly browned.
Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine with Sauce
Stir in the diced water chestnuts and most of the sliced green onions (reserving some for garnish). Pour the prepared sauce into the skillet, stirring to coat the mixture evenly.
Let it simmer for 3–4 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken and the flavors to meld.
Assemble and Serve!
Spoon the filling into individual butter lettuce leaves. Garnish with the reserved green onions.
