Saturday, May 29, 2010

Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps‏


Based on a popular Chinese dish, these fun wraps also make appealing appetizers for entertaining. Make it a meal: Serve with chile-garlic sauce and rice vinegar for extra zip; toss diced mango and strawberries with lime juice for a quick dessert.
Recipe Ingredients
1/2 cup water

1/2 cup instant brown rice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large red bell pepper , finely diced
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts , rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (see Note)
1 teaspoon five-spice powder (see Note)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 heads Boston lettuce , leaves separated
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs , such as cilantro, basil, mint and/or chives
1 large carrot , shredded


Recipe Directions
  1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice; reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.
  3. To serve, spoon portions of the turkey mixture into lettuce leaves, top with herbs and carrot and roll into wraps.
Prepare the filling (through Step 2), cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Serve cold or reheat in the microwave.
Notes: Hoisin sauce is a spicy, sweet sauce made from soybeans, chiles, garlic and spices. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a year.

Often a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder was originally considered a cure-all miracle blend encompassing the five elements (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty). Look for it in the supermarket spice section.


2 comments:

  1. Great recipe....I will try it out next week! Thank you sweetie!
    Muah

    ReplyDelete
  2. YUM!
    I had these in Animal Kingdom and wanted to make them at home, Yeah now I can.

    Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete