Five-Spice Beef Lettuce Wraps are a healthy, light meal and take only 30 minutes to make. Everyone can assemble their own making it easy to please the whole family!
These wraps are so easy to make! Don’t let the long ingredient list intimidate you. It’s all healthy stuff anyways, right? Lettuce wraps are a great choice for warm weather months because they are refreshing and light tasting. The beef filling is seasoned with a Chinese Five-spice powder blend that gives it a slightly complex flavor and the vegetables add a nice crispy, crunch. Make sure to use a lettuce that is soft enough to wrap around the filling. It can take two leaves put together to make one wrap. The best lettuce candidates are Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves. You should avoid using romaine because it’s a little too rigid.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE FIVE-SPICE BEEF LETTUCE WRAPS
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Dry roasted peanuts
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Fresh mint leaves
- Lime
- Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves
- Dry sherry or Beef stock
- Shallot
- Sugar
- Chili garlic sauce
- Olive oil
- Top sirloin or flank steak
- Salt
- Chinese five-spice blend
- Sesame oil
- Water chestnuts
- Green onions
- Rice vinegar
- Fresh ginger
WHAT IS FIVE-SPICE POWDER?
- Five-spice powder is a Chinese blend that is used throughout Asia and is usually applied as a spice rub for a variety of meats such as chicken, duck, pork, and beef. Sometimes it is added to breading mixtures to fried foods for more flavor. The most common five spices used for the blend are star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and Fennel seeds. Some variations might have ginger root, galangal, nutmeg, turmeric, licorice, or Mandarin orange peel.
WHAT ARE WATER CHESTNUTS?
- Water chestnuts are aquatic vegetables that grow underwater in bogs and marshes. The tops of the plants have grass-like leaves and in the mud with the roots, grow the edible small, rounded white fleshed corms. They can be eaten raw, boiled, pickled, or tinned. Water chestnuts taste crunchy and slightly sweet with a subtle nutty flavor. Being native to Asian countries, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find them in much of their cuisines.
HOW TO MAKE FIVE-SPICE BEEF LETTUCE WRAPS
- Simmer vinegar, lime juice, sugar, ginger, and garlic sauce in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from the heat; set aside until serving.
- Prepare the condiments and arrange separately on a serving plate.
- In a small bowl, combine sherry or stock, shallots, sugar, and garlic sauce; set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss together beef, seasonings, and sesame oil.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and sauté the beef, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, until the beef is seared.
- Add the sherry (or stock) mixture and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in chestnuts and green onions.
- Put two lettuce leaves together for each wrap. Place about ¼ cup filling and let each person add their desired condiments.
- Serve with the chili dipping sauce to drizzle over the wrap filling.
Five-Spice Beef Lettuce Wraps
Five-Spice Beef Lettuce Wraps are a healthy light meal and take only 30 minutes to make. Everyone can assemble their own making it easy to please the whole family!
Servings: 8 wraps
Ingredients
For the Dipping Sauce:
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 2-4 tsp chili garlic sauce, (4 tsp for very spicy)
For the condiments:
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup carrot, julienned
- ½ cup cucumber, seeded and julienned
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely torn
- 1 lime, cut into small wedges
- 16 Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried
For the beef filling:
- ⅓ cup dry sherry or beef stock
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb. Top sirloin or flank steak, trimmed, diced
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp Chinese five-spice blend
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ½ cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
- ⅓ cup green onions, sliced
Instructions
- For the Dipping Sauce: Simmer vinegar, lime juice, sugar, ginger, and garlic sauce in a small saucepan for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and set aside until serving.
- For the condiments: Prepare the condiments and arrange separately on a serving plate.
- For the beef filling: In a small bowl, combine sherry or stock, shallots, sugar, and garlic sauce; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together beef, seasonings, and sesame oil. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and sauté the beef, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, until the beef is seared. Add the sherry mixture and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in chestnuts and green onions.
- Assemble the wraps: Put two lettuce leaves together for each wrap. Place about ¼ cup filling and let each person add their desired condiments. Serve with the chili dipping sauce to drizzle over the wrap filling.
