Ground Turkey, Shiitake and Cashew Lettuce Cups
Salad and stir-fry in one, lettuce cups are a relaxed summer dinner that combine textures and temperatures to great effect. Cool, crunchy lettuce leaves smeared with hoisin sauce are all that are needed to contain this quick-cooking filling on a hot day, although steamed rice and a cold beer would make lovely accompaniments. The filling can be adapted easily by substituting ground pork for the turkey, firm tofu for the mushrooms, carrots or peas for the celery and peanuts or pine nuts for the cashews.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 3tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2teaspoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more to taste
- 2tablespoons peanut or sunflower oil (or another neutral-tasting oil)
- 1pound ground turkey
- 4ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- 2scallions, thinly sliced, dark green slices reserved for garnish
- 2celery stalks, diced (about 3/4 cup), tender leaves reserved for garnish
- 2tablespoons roughly chopped cashews
- Cold, crisp lettuce leaves, such as iceberg, little gem or butter lettuce
- Hoisin sauce, for serving
Instructions
Step 1
Whisk the wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce and white pepper together in a small bowl or cup; set aside.Step 2
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Add turkey and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, spread the meat to the edges in an even layer. Let cook until the bottom of the meat is deeply browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Then stir the turkey, breaking up the meat into small pieces.Step 3
Stir in the mushrooms and white and light green scallion slices and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan if anything begins to stick, until the mushrooms are glistening and scallions have softened, about 2 minutes.Step 4
Stir in the reserved sauce, the diced celery and the chopped cashews and cook until celery is warmed and meat is cooked through, about 1 minute. Immediately remove from heat. Taste and add soy sauce and white pepper as needed.Step 5
To serve, transfer to a platter and scatter with reserved scallion greens and celery leaves. At the table, smear a small amount of hoisin sauce on a lettuce leaf and fill with a spoonful of the turkey mixture.