Asian Lettuce Wraps

If you're anything like me you love PF Chang's.  One of my favorite parts of eating at PF Chang's are the lettuce wraps before the meal.  I found a recipe on AllRecipes that makes great lettuce wraps.  The recipe calls for making it with beef, which I did.  They were great with beef but next time I'll try making it with chicken; I bet that they'll be just as good and taste almost exactly like the lettuce wraps at PF Chang's!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

16 Boston Bibb or Butter Lettuce leaves

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1 T Cooking Oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 T Soy sauce

1/4 c Hoisin sauce

2 t Minced Pickled Ginger (I couldn't find this so I left it out -- they were still great!)

1 T Red Wine Vinegar

Asian Chile Pepper Sauce (optional -- I used maybe a teaspoon of this)

1 8 oz can Water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 t Asian (dark) Sesame Oil

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 been in 1 T of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary.  Drain, and set aside to cool.

3. 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, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about two minutes.

4. Combine the beef with the onion mixture.  Spoon onto individual lettuce leaves and roll like a burrito to eat.

Jason and I created our own PF Chang's sauce to go with the lettuce wraps.  We each created our own but started with a base of soy sauce and then added chile pepper sauce.  We then added white vinegar to cut the spice and get the sauce to the right temperature.  It was a delicious meal!