Lettuce Wraps

The lettuce wraps from PF Changs are to-die-for!  If you haven't tried them you are really missing out.  I am not going to tell you that these lettuce wraps are a duplicate of the experience you have had at PF Changs but they are really good.  I love the hoisin sauce in them.  Hoisin sauce is like an Asian BBQ sauce, you find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.  The recipe is pretty loose.  They can be made with chicken breast, ground beef or ground turkey, any kind of lettuce works great, you can eat them with rice or just the meat mixture, there is basically a lot of room for personal preferences.

 I head of Lettuce
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef/ Ground Turkey OR 2 Large Chicken Breasts, diced small
2 tsp. Sesame Oil
1 Large Onion, diced small
2 Cloves Garlic, pressed
1 T. Soy Sauce
4 T. Hoisin Sauce
2 tsp. Fresh Ginger, minced (or in a pinch 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger but fresh is best)
1 T. Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Can Water chestnuts, diced small
1 Carrot, grated
1 Bunch Green Onions, sliced
1 C. Cooked Rice

Individually remove leaves of lettuce, wash them and pat them dry.  Lay them on a large platter and set aside.  Heat oil in a skillet and brown your meat, onion, garlic and ginger.  When meat is cooked through and onions are translucent add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, water chestnuts, carrots and green onions.  Cook for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat.

To serve, either spoon meat mixture alone onto individual lettuce leaves OR spoon some rice onto lettuce first then some of the meat mixture.