Easy to make, fun to eat. These Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps are the perfect summer weeknight meals. 
This is about to be your new favorite meal for busy summer nights. Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps wrap all the flavor, convenience and fun of ground beef tacos into a crunchy, nutritious lettuce leaf package.
I love a good lettuce wrap on hot summer nights and have made them for years with chicken, bacon or even cauliflower. Those are great but take a little more time to prepare. This recipe cuts the prep time down to the very basics — similar to ground beef tacos — you literally brown your beef, add your seasonings, cooks some rice and serve with lettuce leaves and toppings.
Admittedly calling these wraps “Korean” is a bit of a stretch. Its more like ground beef simmered in a fairly standard mix of Asian seasonings — but the flavor is really delicious. A little sweet, a little tangy, lots of sesame oil and soy. Plus it takes almost no time at all to prepare.
My kids have always found the novelty of “leaf tacos” extremely appealing. They love piling the filling and all the toppings into lettuce leaves and digging right in. But if you have a few picky eaters in the house, no worries –the filling makes a tasty meal simply paired with brown rice and a few veggie toppings. Just lay everything out on the table and let everyone create their own perfect meal (you know how much I love serving things deconstructed).
Toppings can be as wild or tame as you like. I usually offer shredded carrots, sliced sweet bell peppers, maybe some radishes. Toasted sesame seeds and diced green onions are a must. Chow Mien Noodles are fun for extra crunch. Jon and I like our wraps with an extra kick so I typically put out some bottled hoisin sauce and a bottle of sriracha for heat.
As far as the lettuce goes, I find that Boston Bibb or Butter lettuce tend to make the best wraps. They have a natural “pouch” shape and mild flavor that the kids love. In a pinch even romaine will do though.
So go ahead and get wrapping
Easy Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Easy to make, fun to eat. These Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps are the perfect summer weeknight meals. All the flavor, convenience and fun of ground beef tacos into a crunchy, nutritious lettuce leaf package.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups hot cooked white or brown rice
- 2 to 3 small heads Boston Bibb or Butter lettuce, leaves separated
- Garnishes: sliced green onions, sesame seeds, chow mien noodles, shredded carrots, sliced bell peppers, sliced radishes, hoisin sauce, sriracha
Instructions
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