Lettuce Wrap Salad

I love lettuce wraps. I love lettuce wraps at the Cheesecake Factory. I feel SO bad saying that while living in a place like Portland that has more amazing restaurants on any given block than most cities have in entire zip codes. Regardless, I love lettuce wraps at the Factory. However, since the arrival of our tiny gentleman last August, we don't go out too much; we had to start making our own so I could get my fix. Enter lettuce wrap salad. Delicious, easy to eat, no grubby fingers, spicy dressing, cool veggies. We eat it at least once a week. And, we haven't been to the Factory in a zillion years. 

 

Lettuce Wrap Salad

1 head of lettuce (we like green leaf, or butter lettuce - sturdy lettuces work best in this salad)

1 cup of grated carotts

1 cup of chopped cucumber

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1/2 pound of ground turkey or chicken (we've also used crumbled meat substitutes, no meat at all, shredded chicken - use what you like, or what you've got.)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup cooked thin noodles, broken in half before cooking

Ground pepper

Dressing

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter 

juice and zest from 2 limes - about 1/4 cup of juice and 2 tablespoons zest

1 teaspoon grated ginger

2 teaspoons Sriracha (this is a SPICY salad dressing... start with a little bit of Siracha and add more to taste. We like 2 teaspoons, but this is pretty spicy.)

Cook the ground turkey in a little bit of oil and add a tablespoon of soy sauce, and some ground pepper.

Cook noodles and drain.

Chop lettuce and veggies.

In a large bowl, whisk soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, lime zest, grated ginger and Sriracha. Add noodles and meat to the dressing, toss to coat. Add in lettuce and veggies and toss to combine.

The noodles and dressing are great on their own. This dressing is also a great marinade for grilled chicken, as a topping for rice and veggie bowls, or as a dressing for real, build your own, messy, wonderful lettuce wraps. 

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