Asian Lettuce Wraps

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Just about everyone I know is obsessed with the lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs.  After seeing an attempt to crack the secret here, I was inspired to create my own.

    

The recipe below will yield what I made last night.  I fed five people, everyone got as much as they wanted, and there was a tiny bit left over.  If you're cooking for two people, and are only eating this as a side, I made a note next to each ingredient suggesting how to alter the recipe.

WARNING:  This recipe breaks my low ingredients rule by a long shot.  It has almost 10 ingredients and requires a lot of slicing and dicing.  That said, it's full of vegetables and low carb, so I suppose that combined with its sweet amazing tasty goodness will make up for the work it takes.

What You Need:

• Large pieces of iceberg lettuce (to use as a wrap)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil [1/2 tablespoon for side]
• 16 ounces of ultra lean ground beef [4 for side]  (Can substitute chicken here)
• 1 large green pepper, diced [1 small green pepper for side]
• 2 cups shelled & steamed edamame beans [1/2 for side] (I couldn't find shelled edamame beans at the grocery store, so I actually did the labor of steaming them and then squeezing the beans out of the pod.  It wasn't horrible - but I'd still recommend pre-shelled beans if you can find them).
• 3/4 cup soy sauce [3 tablespoons for side]  (If you don't have this much, it's alright to under-do it a bit on the soy sauce).
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds [1/2 tablespoon for side]
• 1 large cucumber, diced [1/2 cucumber for side]
• 1 cup chopped green onion [1/4 cup for side]
• 2 handfulls of cilantro, chopped [one small handful for side]
• Lime juice from 2 limes [1 lime for side]

How to Make it:

1. Using a saute pan, cook ground beef with the green pepper and the canola oil.
2. While beef is cooking, chop the cucumber, green onion, and cilantro, and juice the lime.  Set this to the side (to be used in a few minutes).
   
3. Once beef is cooked, add the steamed edamame beans, sesame seeds, and soy sauce.  Stir and heat for a few more minutes.
   
4. Remove from heat and put into your serving bowl.  Add the chopped cucumbers, green onion, cilantro, and lime juice.  Toss together.
   
5. Serve with lettuce pieces!

Enjoy!