Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Weeknights are busy and many parents find themselves preparing the same meals over and over again. While ground meats are wonderful time savers, even beloved tacos and turkey burgers get boring after awhile. Why not mix it up a bit with some quick and easy Thai food? This tangy, Asian-inspired meal is just as simple as tacos, but tastes so fresh and fun. I prefer to eat it as a lettuce wrap, but the kids like it over rice. Don't let the fish sauce scare you away, it isn't particularly fishy and it lends a great depth of flavor to the dish. But if you can't find it in your supermarket (or don't want to try it), substituting equal parts soy sauce is fine too.
Ingredients
Directions
- Heat canola oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Lightly sauté red onion until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add turkey and break apart with a spatula. Continue to cook until no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any juice or fat and turn off the heat, cooling meat for 5 minutes.
- Add fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice to turkey and stir. Taste for seasoning then put in a serving bowl.
- To serve, put 1/4 cup of meat in a lettuce leaf, then top with some green onions, jalapeno pepper slices, a pinch of cilantro and mint, and a sprinkle of peanuts. Serve with hot rice.
Find more recipes from Alison Needham on Family.com, or visit her blog at www.agirlamarketameal.com.
What is the Family Approved program?
In Their Opinion:
- Kid Friendly
- Go-To Meal
- Good for Grownups
- Perfect for Parties
This was excellent—a great party meal, since people can add whichever of the ingredients they want!
To make this recipe a bit more kid friendly, consider chopping up the thinly sliced peppers made them much more edible. For picky eaters, serve all the herbs and peanuts in ramekins so that kids can add as much or as little as they wish (or tell them to choose at least one out of the 5 options). Also, serve them both the rice and the lettuce leaf and let them decide how to eat the dish. If you chop and measure ahead, putting it together is a breeze!
I made this when we were having company over - the mom of the family is a vegetarian, so I doubled the recipe and made half exactly as it was written but substituted extra firm cubed tofu for the turkey for the other half. Both were excellent. For the tofu version I drained the tofu, then soaked it in the fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice instead of adding those afterwards.
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