As a kid, a trip to the Pink Pearl Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver was a cause for great excitement. Dish upon steaming dish of scallops with stir-fried vegetables, chicken with cashews and enormous Chinese mushrooms in oyster sauce filled our table. It was always hard to pick a favorite, but stir-fried beef with broccoli in black bean sauce, scented with fresh ginger and garlic was always in the top five. These lettuce wraps, with ground turkey subbed in for the beef, make for a quick and healthy meal that's fun to eat, if not a little messy.
There's something about eating with your hands that makes the kids forget about the "lettuce" part of the wraps. In fact, they didn't even mention the lettuce as they loaded up wrap after wrap, scraping the fallen bits onto a fork and straight into their mouths. After the success of the Endive Spears with Teriyaki Turkey, Edamame and Baby Corn, I knew that sneaking in leafy vegetables was easiest when Asian sauces and tasty fillings were involved.
The sauce is a simple mixture of chicken broth, water and Black Bean Garlic Sauce, which can be found in the Asian section of most supermarkets. Once the ground turkey is cooked and the broccoli and red bell peppers are stir-fried with fresh ginger and garlic, stir in the sauce and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. The whole meal is ready in less than 20 minutes.
The recipe:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the black bean sauce, chicken broth and water. Set aside.
Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray.
Add ground turkey and cook, breaking down the turkey with a wooden spray, until cooked through. Transfer to a large bowl. Give the skillet a wipe with paper towel.
Heat 1 ½ teaspoons canola oil in the same skillet set over medium-high heat.
Add ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add garlic and chile flakes, and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil. Add broccoli and cook, stirring constantly until the broccoli is just tender, about 1 minute.
Add the red bell pepper and cook for an additional minute.
Turn the heat to medium and add the ground turkey and black bean sauce mixture. Cook until the turkey and sauce are heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds and transfer to a serving bowl.
Serve the turkey mixture with the lettuce leaves and invite everyone to wrap the turkey in the lettuce leaves.
Other lettuce wrap recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Salad Cups with Quinoa, Shrimp, Avocado & Lemon Dressing
Cookin' Canuck's Pork & Green Bean Lettuce Wraps with Sesame Hoisin Sauce
The Little Kitchen's Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Perry's Plate Shrimp & Cucumber Lettuce Wraps with Fresh Dill
Healthy Delicious' Duck & Shiitake Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Sauce
Turkey & Broccoli Lettuce Wrap with Chinese Black Bean Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup black bean sauce
- ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 ¼ pounds lean ground turkey
- 2 ½ teaspoons canola oil divided
- 2 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced & cut in half
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 head Boston lettuce divided into separate leaves
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the black bean sauce, chicken broth and water. Set aside.
- Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray.
- Add ground turkey and cook, breaking down the turkey with a wooden spray, until cooked through. Transfer to a large bowl. Give the skillet a wipe with paper towel.
- Heat 1½ teaspoons canola oil in the same skillet set over medium-high heat.
- Add ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add garlic and chile flakes, and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil. Add broccoli and cook, stirring constantly until the broccoli is just tender, about 1 minute.
- Add the red bell pepper and cook for an additional minute.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the ground turkey and black bean sauce mixture. Cook until the turkey and sauce are heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the toasted sesame seeds and transfer to a serving bowl.
- Serve the turkey mixture with the lettuce leaves and invite everyone to wrap the turkey in the lettuce leaves.
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Ali
These look yummy! Gonna try them this week 🙂
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
Lettuce wraps are one of my very favorite meals!
Jeanette
These look fantastic Dara - my kids love eating with their hands, and I love black bean sauce.
KalynsKitchen
Oh yes please. I am actually making lettuce wraps today, love them!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
This sounds great. I love lettuce wraps.
Minnie(@thelady8home)
Fantastic. Lettuce wraps are my fav, they always sound such lovely food.
Deborah
I LOVE lettuce wraps, but don't make them nearly enough. These sound absolutley perfect!
JulieD
I love black bean sauce...I want to try your lettuce wraps!! Thanks for the link love on my chicken ones. 😀
Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings
Lettuce wraps are awesome! My fav Chinese place is in Ft Erie-- other side of the country, but still in Canada 🙂
carrian
Why are lettuce wraps so dang good? You'd almost think that something wrapped in a lonely piece of lettuce would be boring, but here you go showing the world how wonderful they truly are!
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa
Yum!!! I love black bean sauce and it looks delicious wrapped up in lettuce. So much more healthy than serving it in a taco/tortilla/rice!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love lettuce wraps, these look great!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
This post reminds me of my visit to Vancouver and all of the amazing Asian food!!! Looks delish - huge fan of lettuce wraps!
Laurie @SimplyScratch
I love lettuce wraps, the whole initial crunch from the crisp lettuce gets me everytime! These look delicious Dara!
Aggie
It's funny, my kids seem to like lettuce wraps too which is crazy to me because they refuse salad every time! I love the flavors in this...so good! I need to put it on our menu for everyone to try!!