Turkey Lettuce Wraps and Cold Rice Salad

This dish is one of my husband and my favorites.  When we’re out at P.F. Chang’s, we both love the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, so when I came across this recipe from Melissa D’Arabian, I knew it was something I had to try.  If you’re not familiar with Melissa, she has a great show on Food Network called Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D’Arabian.  Her promise is… “4 people, ten bucks, infinite possibilities”.  I’m a huge fan of Melissa’s and many of the meals I cook at home come courtesy of her on-air kitchen.  If you’ve never seen her show or cooked her recipes, this one will make you a fan for sure.

Start with the Cold Rice Salad since it’s best served chilled.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps and Cold Rice Salad

Cold Rice Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups long grain white rice, rinsed

Salt

2 cups +/- peas, blanched

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Directions:

Place the rice in a pot or rice cooker with 3 cups water and a pinch of salt.  Cook as you normally would.  Once done, spread the rice out on a sheet tray and let it cool completely.  Next, combine the rice, peas and red bell pepper.  Toss gently

Dressing

Ingredients:

3 Tbl rice wine vinegar

8 Tbl vegetable oil

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small bowl add the rice wine vinegar, a small pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper.  Mix together and slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil and then the sesame oil.

Pour the dressing over the rice mix until thinly coated.  Taste and re-season if necessary.  Put in fridge until ready to serve.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

12 oz ground turkey

2 tsp vegetable oil

8 oz white mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (16 oz) can water chestnuts, chopped

¼ cup soy sauce

1 Tbl brown sugar

1 Tbl rice wine vinegar

Iceberg lettuce

Directions:

Brown the turkey in the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and water chestnuts and cook until the mushrooms soften.  In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar, pour over the turkey mixture and cook 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Drizzling Sauce for Wraps

Ingredients:

3 Tbl soy sauce

2 Tbl rice wine vinegar

1 Tbl honey

1 Tbl Dijon or other spicy mustard

1 Tbl Sriracha sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

½ cup water

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients

Tags: Asian cooking, Cooking, food network, Melissa D'Arabian, P.F. Chang's, Rice Salad, Ten Dollar Dinners, Turkey Lettuce Wraps