Summer is about having lots of delicious, quick meal ideas at the ready so you can make sure nutritious meals find you and yours without having you tied up in the kitchen (or even at the grill) for hours instead of making the most of the lovely weather around you. So imagine making a fantastic meal that's packed with flavor, fresh vegetables, and lean beef in 20 minutes and having the rest of your evening for hanging at the beach, catching an outdoor concert, or checking out the flavors at the neighborhood ice cream shop. What's not to love?
If you do not have ground beef, you can dice round or sirloin steak and use that instead. If you are looking to reduce the heat in this dish, consider decreasing the amount of gochujang paste in the pan sauce and/or sriracha and chili sauce in the drizzle sauce. Keep the ginger, as there is so much flavor and only a little heat brought to the dish by it. If you don't have an apple, you can skip it. If your sauce seems a bit thin, you can always add a little cornstarch mixed with a bit of cold water into the pan to thicken things a bit. The mix of veggies can be tweaked, but avoid using very wet vegetables (zucchini, I'm looking at you). Be sure to serve this while the beef filling is warm but not bubbling - no burning fingers out there!
This makes a nice light meal on its own, but you can always serve summer rolls, Asian coleslaw, or a cold noodle salad with the wraps. If it's a hot day, sliced melon is particularly lovely - add a bit of pineapple for added tang too. Enjoy!
Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 T. dark soy sauce or gluten free tamari
- 2 T. gochujang paste
- 1 T. grated fresh ginger
- 2 T. brown sugar
- 2 T. mirin
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 grated sweet apple - no peeling necessary
- 1 T. toasted sesame oil
- 1 c. matchstick cut kohlrabi
- 1 red bell pepper - cored and diced
- 1 large carrot - coarsely shredded
- 3-4 green onions - finely chopped
- 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- ½ c. mayonnaise
- ¼ c. Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1-2 tsp. sriracha sauce, according to spice preference
- 2 tsp. honey
- 1-2 heads butter lettuce - leaves removed, washed, and dried
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Near the end of that process (1-2 minutes of cooking left to fully brown the beef), add the next 9 ingredients (dark soy sauce through toasted sesame oil) to the skillet and stir while the beef finishes browning and the sauce forms and thickens slightly. Add the kohlrabi and diced pepper; stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the carrot and green onions; stir fry for another minute. Remove from the heat, add the sesame seeds, and allow the sauce to thicken for a couple minutes before assembling the wraps. This is the perfect time to mix the drizzle sauce.
Whisk the mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce, sriracha sauce, and honey together in a small bowl until well combined and homogeneous. Either drizzle using a spoon or place the sauce in a squeeze bottle and store any unused sauce in the refrigerator and serve over ALL THE THINGS!
To assemble the wraps, place the lettuce leaves on a large platter and fill with the beef mixture. Drizzle the spicy mayo sauce over the top and enjoy immediately.
- Yields: 6 servings
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes