Wednesday at P.F. Chang’s

I was a truly picky eater when I was a kid.  I was a “vegetarian” – which basically meant I ate pasta, butter, cheese and milk.  And white bread, sometimes.  After an epic trip to Pizza Hut on the great college tour of 2000, all of that changed.  Well, some of it.  Trying new things, including new restaurants, like Chinese ones, was truly revolutionary.  Almost 15 years later, I’m still obsessed with their chicken lettuce wraps…which now, I can make at home in about 20 minutes.  Variations are endless; this is what I mixed up for Wednesday night.

P.F. Chang-inspired Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

• olive oil
• diced onion
• diced yellow bell pepper
• leftover mushrooms
• 1 package ground white meat turkey
• minced garlic
• a couple turns of soy sauce
• a couple turns of rice wine vinegar
• couple big spoonfuls oyster sauce
• grated ginger
• Srichacha
• green onions, chopped
• one head iceburg lettuce

Heat the olive oil, saute the onions for a few minutes, add the ground meat until mostly brown.  Tossed in the rest of the vegetables and let them cook down a bit before tossing in the garlic.  Adding the rest of the ingredients (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce and ginger) and finished with a big squeeze of Srichacha.  Tossed briefly with the green onions before serving with washed iceburg lettuce.  Bonus: no carbs meant a few extra glasses of wine.

The Verdict:

This is quickly becoming a staple in our house.  Easy (I mean, it’s almost impossible to mess up, unless you add too much soy and it becomes oversalted); quick (20 minutes, tops); relatively healthy (until you add the wine).  And you can use the leftovers in a big salad the next day for lunch, as it’s just as good cold.  Yum.