Asian Ground Chicken Lettuce Cups

These are a fave I have been making for years for clients. I absolutely love this low-carb, light but massively flavorful lunch. They are also really flexible with what you put in them. And if you need a little more sustenance, you can easily serve them with some coconut rice or peanut noodles on the side. Every chef has a lettuce cup recipe up their sleeve but this is mine. The measurements are a little more of a rough estimate because I go by taste. But as long as you use all the right seasonings, you can't really go wrong.

Serves 2-4 people

You will need:

1lb organic ground chicken or turkey (dark meat)

1/2 a sweet onion, finely diced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated.

2 cloves garlic

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

4 baby bella mushrooms, chopped

1 jalapeno, finely diced

1/2 zucchini, diced

1 small can waterchestnuts, diced (optional)

2 tbsp hoisin

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp thai sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp peanut oil

4 scallions, finely sliced to serve

Sesame seeds for topping

Butter lettuce leaves for serving

Beansprouts for serving

Shredded carrot for serving

1 jalapeno, sliced for serving

Cilantro springs for serving

1 lime, sliced in to 4 for serving

Edible flowers (optional)

Sauces:

Peanut sauce -

2 tbsp Peanut butter

1 tsp thai red chili paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 a lime squeezed

1/4 cup water

Chili soy sauce - made per person

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp trader joes chili onion crunch

Heat your pan with the sesame oil and peanut oil. Add in your onions, ginger, garlic and jalapeno and saute until soft and translucent.

Then toss in your diced red bell pepper, mushrooms and waterchestnuts.

Saute for a few minutes and then add in the ground turkey. Break up the ground turkey and cook for 6-8 minutes until browned.

Now your turkey is broken down and cooked through add in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, thai sweet chili and hoisin and toss to coat.

Once cooked, put on a low simmer and leave while you prep your lettuce and things to serve it with.

Leave to cook for another 5-10 minutes while stirring so the sauce coats the meat.

Wash your butter lettuce cups. I like to use around 5-6 per person. Put a nice handful of shredded carrot and beansprouts on the plate with some sprigs of cilantro, slice of lime and sliced jalapeno.

(At this step it is good to note that you can easily chop the butter lettuce instead to make it easier to eat and served in a deconstructed way with the ground turkey mix on top and the toppings like the shredded carrots and beansprouts etc on top too.)

Ok, it’s time to quickly work on your sauces.

For the peanut sauce, throw all the ingredients in to the bowl together and mix with a whisk until dissolved.

For the soy chili sauce, make individually for each person in a little dish.

Serve the ground turkey in a little bowl, dust with sesame seeds and sprinkle with sliced scallions.

Enjoy every delicious bite of this flavor explosion.