‘Egg roll’ lettuce wraps

The meat mixture works great in a flour tortilla, too

I was getting bored with my regular dinner rotation and this recipe brought my taste buds back to life.

I’m a novice when it comes to any sort of Asian cooking but I know when I like the flavors. And when you live in a place without kosher versions of your favorite foods you have to experiment and learn to make them yourself.

I love these lettuce wraps, which are chock-full of ground beef, cabbage and yummy fresh ginger. I use a lot of seasoning in the filling to offset the crispy, watery lettuce. If you love egg rolls then this is for you; it has all of the flavor but is healthier than a traditional egg roll.

This recipe for lettuce wraps is low carb, but one pan of the meat mixture can provide additional meal options for different palates. My husband takes the leftovers for lunch. He stuffs a flour burrito tortilla with the meat and fresh lettuce. I didn’t believe him initially when he said that it tasted great — I didn’t see how a Mexican burrito and my kosher egg roll filling would meld together, but they absolutely do.

This dish takes 20 minutes to make, including prep time and cooking, so it’s perfect for an evening when you’re low on energy but want something tasty and fresh.

Ingredients
Serves 3-4
1 ½ pounds ground beef
2-3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 bag coleslaw plus 1 grated carrot, or 6 cups grated cabbage plus 2 grated carrots
4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Sea salt to taste (taste after adding soy sauce)
1 head iceberg lettuce
Optional: toasted sesame seeds to garnish

Brown the meat over medium-low heat in a wide sauté pan. Don’t add any oil to the pot — just get it very hot and add the meat.

Break the meat apart and mince it well, stirring and breaking it down every few minutes.

While the meat is cooking, mince the garlic and grate the ginger.

When the meat is fully cooked, turn off the heat and drain as much fat as you can from the pan and discard it. While the fat is where the flavor is, for this recipe you don’t want it because it will run out of your wraps and make a huge mess.

Turn the heat back to medium and make a well in the center of the meat.

Add the sesame oil and place the minced garlic and fresh grated ginger into the oil. Allow it to cook for about a minute before stirring the mixture into the meat.

Chop the cabbage and/or carrots and add it to the pot.

Stir every few minutes until the cabbage starts to soften.

After about 5 minutes add the soy sauce, red pepper flakes and rice vinegar. Stir well and reduce the heat to simmer for a few minutes.

Remove from heat.

If you’re making this ahead of time don’t cover the hot mixture because the cabbage will cook down and you’ll lose the fresh crunch.

To roll the mixture into iceberg lettuce wraps, start at the flimsy side so that the hardest part of the lettuce leaf is on the outside edge.

Serve over rice, or try my husband’s method and roll the mixture and the lettuce in a large flour tortilla or wrap.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.