Hoisin Beef & Edamame Lettuce Wraps in a Hurry

This stir-fry filling—onions, toasted sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, edamame, and carrots—works well with beef, chicken, pork or bison.

beef, carrots, and edamame set in Bibb lettuce leaf

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This is one of my signature dishes. I’ve honed and served it throughout my cooking career as a personal chef, newlywed, and mom. I present to you the simplest, most flavorful version yet. Feel free to substitute ground chicken, lean pork, or bison for the beef.


Hoisin Beef & Edamame Lettuce Wraps
(Makes 4 servings)

beef, carrots, and edamame set in Bibb lettuce leaf
Simple and flavorful. Now that’s a wrap!

Total Prep and Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients for sauce

  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for beef

  • 1 tablespoon expeller-pressed grapeseed or canola oil
  • 1 pound organic or grass-fed ground beef
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 small onion, diced small (about 1 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 1 cup frozen shelled edamame, partially thawed (or peas)
  • 1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup shredded carrots

Ingredients for assembly

  • 1 head Bibb, butter, or iceberg lettuce, separated into individual cups
  • Cooked brown rice
  • Reduced sodium soy sauce, sriracha chili sauce, and peanut sauce for drizzling

Directions

  1. To make the sauce: In a small bowl, stir together sauce ingredients and set aside.
  2. To make the beef: Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat and pour in oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add beef in a single layer and break into pieces. Sprinkle in pepper and allow beef to cook undisturbed for 5 minutes to brown. Turn beef; break it into smaller pieces, add onion, and brown for a few more minutes. If needed, add a splash of water to pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium. Push meat to one side of pan, add garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger to other side, and cook until sesame seeds turn golden, about 20 seconds. Add edamame, water chestnuts, and carrots and stir-fry for 4 more minutes until vegetables become tender.
  3. Swirl sauce into beef, and stir-fry for 1 minute.
  4. To assemble: Serve hot over cool lettuce cups with sauces spooned over top and rice served on side.

Go Clean
Grapeseed oil has a light, neutral taste and can be heated to higher temperatures than most oils, making it perfect for stir-fries. Look for “expeller-pressed” varieties, which rely on mechanical extraction with a small amount of heat instead of chemicals.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (Not including brown rice, 1 cup beef filling with 3 lettuce cups)


Calories: 374
Total fat: 20 g
Saturated fat: 6 g
Carbohydrate: 19 g
Protein: 29 g
Cholesterol: 70 mg


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