• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
DadCooksDinner
  • Home
  • Rotisserie
  • Recipes
  • Tools
  • Books
  • Merch
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Tools
  • Merch
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Books
    • Tools
    • Merch
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Weeknight dinner

    Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Chinese Style

    Published: Aug 10, 2010 · Modified: Jan 21, 2015 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Ben, my oldest, will not eat vegetables or fruit. This is painful for me. While I will never become a vegetarian, I do enjoy all the vegetable options I get from my CSA and farmers market. I plan two vegetable side dishes with every meal. And Ben? Until recently, he wouldn't allow them on his plate. They were too "Yucky."

    Now, he'll try a bite of a fruit or vegetable. Then he'll make a face, and look at me and say "it was OK."
    *Translation: "I took a bite. What more do you want from me?"

    Recently, I had a breakthrough. He has always liked stir-fried chicken. He made the mistake of showing a slight bit of interest in lettuce wraps, so I made him take a taste of this recipe at dinner. I laid on the sales job: "Lettuce doesn't taste like much, really, and it adds a nice crunch with the chicken. Try it!"

    Eventually, after much persuasion, he took a bite. And, to my surprise, he kept going. He finished the one lettuce wrap, and started making himself another one. "Dad, this is my favorite meal!" he announced. I was stunned. My son? Eating a vegetable? I tried to keep my hopes in check - It would never last.

    Boy, was I wrong. He's been asking me to make lettuce wraps ever since, and when I told him I was doing this recipe for the blog, he gave me a big hug.*
    *A hug! For a vegetable!

    So. Are you looking for a quick, easy, weeknight stir fry, that even vegetable-averse kids will eat? Have I got a recipe for you...

    Recipe: Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Chinese Style

    Inspired by: Joanne Weir, Weir Cooking In the City

    Cook time: 10 minutes

    Ingredients:

    • 1 ½ lbs ground turkey
    • 2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
    • 1 scallion, trimmed and sliced thin
    • 1 head bibb lettuce, separated into leaves

    Marinade:

    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

    Sauce

    • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
    • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
    • 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (optional - I omit this for the kids, and pass it at the table)
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
    • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

    Directions:
    See my stir fry basic technique for an overview
    1. Prepare the ingredients: Break the ground turkey into large chunks, and put in a medium sized bowl. Whisk the marinade ingredients together until the cornstarch dissolves, then pour over the turkey. Let the turkey marinate while preparing the other ingredients. Whisk the sauce ingredients together until the cornstarch dissolves. Mince the garlic, ginger, and scallion, and set aside. Separate the Bibb lettuce leaves, rinse clean, and dry in a salad spinner.

    2. Preheat wok or pan: Put 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a 12" to 14" wok or fry pan, and heat over high heat until just showing wisps of smoke.

    3. Stir fry the turkey: Remove half the turkey from the marinade using a slotted spoon and add to the wok. Stir-fry, breaking up the turkey as it cooks, until it has just lost its pink color, about 3 minutes. Remove the cooked turkey to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the wok, and heat for one minute. Add the rest of the turkey to the wok, and stir-fry for another three minutes, until it has just lost its pink color.

    4. Add the aromatics and sauce: Add the plate of cooked turkey with its juices back into the wok. Make a hole in the center of the wok, and add the garlic, ginger, and scallion. Cook without stirring for 30 seconds, or until you can smell the garlic, then stir into the turkey. Slowly pour the sauce into the wok, stirring as you go, and cook and stir until the turkey is coated with sauce and looks glossy, about another minute. Transfer to a bowl, and serve with the bibb lettuce.

    Variations:
    *Really quick sauce: Mix equal parts soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Or, just use hoisin sauce - squeeze it straight into the pan.

    *Other sauce options: See my stir-fry basic technique for other ideas for the sauce, or use a favorite stir-fry sauce.

    *Hide some vegetables in the mix: I like this with diced red bell pepper, or thin-sliced cabbage, added with the second batch of turkey. But, my kids can be suspicious of extra stuff in the mix. I'm pushing my luck with the scallions as it is, so I usually stir-fry a batch of vegetables as a side dish, and add them into the lettuce wrap as I'm assembling it.

    Notes:
    *Quick white rice is the traditional side dish - you can add it to the lettuce wraps, or if you have really, really picky eaters (like I did...right up until the events of this post), they can eat the rice and chicken without the lettuce.

    *I always put a bottle of hoisin sauce and a bottle of sriracha on the table, so people can add a little more sweet or hot sauce if they'd like. Slicing up another scallion and passing it as a condiment is also a good idea.

    What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts:
    Stir fry basic technique
    Thai noodle and pork stir fry
    Green bean stir fry

    Inspired by:
    Joanne Weir, Weir Cooking in the City

    *Enjoyed this post?  Want to help out DadCooksDinner?  Subscribe using your RSS reader or by Email, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site.  Thank you!

    More Weeknight dinner

    • A bowl of Cajun dirty rice with an instant pot and a jar of Cajun seasoning in the background
      Instant Pot Dirty Rice
    • A quarter slab of St. Louis Ribs on a green plate
      Instant Pot St Louis Ribs (Pressure Cooker)
    • A bowl of panang curry topped with sliced basil and hot peppers
      Instant Pot Thai Panang Curry (With Beef)
    • A bowl of chicken legs and rice with an Instant Pot in the background
      Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice (Arroz con Pollo)

    Sharing is caring!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      June 07, 2012 at 10:06 am

      You're welcome - glad you liked it!

      Reply
    2. Sunkist says

      June 07, 2012 at 2:22 am

      I have to say this was every bit as good as the salad wraps you might find out at a restaurant (dripping with grease and fried noodles) ....very very impressive for turkey!!!   Thanks so much for the recipe!!  

      Reply
    3. MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says

      August 11, 2010 at 12:26 am

      @Joanne Weir

      No, thank you! This recipe has been a regular in my rotation for a while, thanks to you.

      Reply
    4. joanne@joanneweir.com says

      August 10, 2010 at 4:16 pm

      Happy you liked my recipe and happier that your son did! Thanks for including me. Nice blog!

      Reply

    Questions? Made the Recipe? Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner! I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice

    Recent

    • Slices of flat iron steak cooked medium
      Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak (24 Hours to Tenderness)
    • Shredded pork on a bed of rice, with an Instant Pot, jar of Recaito, and Sazon packets
      Instant Pot Puerto Rican Pulled Pork (Pernil al Caldero)
    • Mexican Brown Rice in a bowl
      Instant Pot Mexican Brown Rice (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
    • A plate of brisket slices with a pickle, onion, and bbq sauce
      Instant Pot Beef Brisket

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Dad Cooks Dinner

    79 shares