Asian Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps maybe one of the best food ideas ever. You get to eat with you hands, the filling is bursting with flavor and there is always that satisfying crunch of the fresh lettuce. These wraps are so simple to make. We always have lettuce wraps at every Chinese banquet I go to; those are filled with dried oysters, meat, and other vegetable. Honestly, I am not a huge oyster fan but I always am one of the first to scarf them down. Here is a more home-friendly recipe that captures the essences and flavors of this refreshing dish.

The Ingredients
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1.5 lb ground turkey
1.5 lb ground pork
1 onion, minced
1 can water chestnuts, finely diced
10 dried mushrooms, soaked and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
half a bunch of cilantro
4 stalks of green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1.5 tablespoons sugar
dash of chili flakes
salt
pepper
oil
hoisin sauce

The Method
Separate the leaves of the lettuce and lay them on a platter. Cover them with a wet cloth to keep them crisp.
Heat up a large pan on medium high heat. Pour a tablespoon of oil and saute the ground meat until cooked. Place in a large bowl.
Heat the pan again with some oil and sweat the onions for a few minutes. Throw in the garlic, ginger and mushrooms and continue cook for another few minutes. Add the water chestnuts, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili flakes and sugar. Crack some fresh black pepper.Pour the meat back in and add the green onions, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Take it off the heat and put it into a large bowl.
Take a leaf of lettuce, put a teaspoon of hoisin sauce on the bottom, lay on a couple spoonfuls of the filling and enjoy. This recipe will serve about 5-6 as a full meal or 8-10 as an appetizer.