I’ve only recently been introduced to Thai food. Pad Thai is my favorite… I would never pass it up! My latest quick and easy go-to recipe is Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps from Women’s Health magazine. They’re very similar to the appetizers you get at P.F. Changs restaurant (or any Asian restaurant, really) and they’re very delicious. Here’s a quick overview of how to make them:
1. Gather all of your ingredients:
12 oz flank, skirt, or sirloin steak
1 tbsp chili sauce (we like sriracha)
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 limes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 head Bibb lettuce, washed and dried, leaves separated (we’ve also used iceberg and green leaf, and they’ve been just as tasty)
I totes cheat and buy already-shredded carrots – gotta love shortcuts. But I do chop the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro so it’s justified 😛
2. Chop the head of lettuce in half. It’s much easier to tear off bowl-shaped leaves this way.
3. Put your steak on the grill. I like to eat our Thai wraps with corn on the cob, so we’ve added it to the grill as well. My steak preference is medium (medium rare, really, but that’s a little iffy sometimes). We cooked this steak on the grill on high for about 6 minutes on each side and it turned out pretty scrummy.
4. Make your marinade/sauce. Mix the Sriracha, fish sauce and lime juice together. The recipe tells you to heat it up in a sauce pan, which will thicken it up a bit, but it’s just as good not heated through. I pour about half of it on the steak when it has been sliced and drip the other half on my wraps. It’s yum!
5. After you make your super simple sauce and while you wait for the steak to finish on the grill, enjoy a real appetizer, such as chips and salsa. Mmmmm!
6. Once your steak is finished and you’ve let it sit for about 5 minutes (this helps keep it juicy) AND you’ve put your chips and salsa away, slice your steak really thin, against the grain. Nick has gotten really good at this part!
7. Set out all of your ingredients so they’re easily accessible. Here we have our lettuce cups, chopped onion, shredded carrot, chopped jalapeno, sliced streak, chopped cilantro, our thai sauce and extra sriracha if you like it really spicy.
8 and 9. Fill up your cups with your veggies and roll it up (like a mini tortilla/taco). Add some extra thai sauce and/or sriracha sauce for extra spice. Then enjoy!
We usually makes this for dinner every few weeks. Try it next time you want a taste of yummy Thai at home!
