Lettuce Cups with Spicy Honey Ginger Turkey

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These lettuce cups are a riff on a dish I ate when when I was in Thailand a few years ago. I really loved the freshness and crunch of the lettuce leaf as vehicle for the meat and veggies. Loaded with fresh herbs like green onions and cilantro and topped with chopped peanuts, these cups aren’t short on flavor or texture. 

The meat in this recipe is ground turkey but you could easily use ground chicken and super finely diced chicken. The turkey is sautéed with shallots, ginger and garlic and then cooked down in a soy, honey, sriracha sauce. It’s then finished with a touch of rice vinegar for some acidity, and if you want more of a punch you can squeeze a little lime on top of the assembled cup. You can also make a salad with all the components too if you don’t feel like making individual cups. 

Have fun!

 

 






 




5 from 2 votes
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Lettuce Cups with Spicy Honey Ginger Turkey
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 
Author: The Sea Salt
Ingredients
  • 2-3 heads romaine leave separated, cleaned and dried
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 4 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1.5 lbs ground turkey or chicken
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • 4 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp sriracha
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • diced cucumber
  • diced red bell pepper
  • finely chopped green onions
  • chopped cilantro
  • chopped peanuts
Instructions
To Make Turkey

  1. In a large skillet heat sesame oil over medium heat, but don't let it smoke (sesame oil has a low smoke point so it can smoke easily, which you don't want). 

  2. Add shallots and cook stirring constantly for 30 seconds or so, then add ginger and continue to stir for 30 seconds. Add garlic and cook just 30 seconds longer removing from the heat if anything starts to burn.

  3. Push shallots, ginger and garlic to the edges of the pan and add the turkey to middle of the pan where it is hotter. Let turkey cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon for a minute or so, and then incorporate the shallots, ginger and garlic. Add the red pepper flakes. Continue to cook turkey until it is no longer pink and it is cooked through.


  4. Add soy sauce, honey and sriracha to pan and continue to cook until the sauce thickens up and the turkey is coated with it. Add the vinegar and cook just 30 seconds or so. Season with more honey or soy sauce if necessary, and set aside. 

To Assemble Cups

  1. Fill romaine heart with turkey mixture (doesn't have to be super hot) followed by the cucumbers and red peppers. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro and peanuts. Enjoy right away. 




Yum

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