Lettuce Wraps

We have a wonderful Chinese food restaurant in our town...and one of my favorite menu items is their lettuce wrap.

When I found a recipe that looked similar (in the Mt. Cheam Christian School Cookbook #3)...I decided to give it a try. I will be making this dish again...and again!

Lettuce Wraps

1 large head iceberg lettuce

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 red pepper, finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced

1 onion, chopped

2 or 3 cups steam fried noodles

1 bottle hoisin sauce

• Core head of lettuce. Hold upside down under cold, running water...gently pull the leaves away from the core, one at a time. Each leaf will from a natural cup. Remove excess water from leaves...and chill in refrigerator until needed.
• Brown ground beef in heavy skillet. Add ginger, garlic, peppers, carrot and onion. Fry until veggies are tender. Add the steam fried noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes longer (noodles should still be crunchy). Transfer mixture to serving platter.
• Place platter on table, alongside a plate of lettuce leaves and bowl of hoisin sauce. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf...top with hoisin sauce. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Cooks notes: The hoisin sauce can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store. It's what gives the flavour...so it is not optional!