Asian Lettuce Cups (San Choy Bow)

As part of the whole being a bit healthier tonight I made Asian Lettuce Cups for dinner. Some call this San Choy Bow too. The basic idea is that it is a mixture of mince, vegetables and seasoning served in lettuce leaves. To eat you roll up the lettuce leaf and take a bite.

I've made San Choy Bow before using one of the packet saunces that you add to the mince. I found this be too sweet so thought I'd try to make it from scratch. I didn't have everything in the cupboard that the recipe called for, so I substituted ingredients. You can find the recipe here at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.

I used sesame seeds, Pork mince, fresh cabbage and carrot, and bean sprouts instead of sesame oil, chicken mince, coleslaw mix and water chestnuts. There are many different variations out there for this dish. I think the best thing to do is consider your own tastes and adjust the ingredients accordingly. It is a pretty healthy dish. I followed it up with fresh rock-melon and some raspberry yoghurt.

Asian Lettuce Wraps  (adapted from Hezzi-D's)
NB - As an entrée this would serve 4-6, as a main it serves 3-4

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

4 cloves of minced garlic

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger 
2 mushrooms

500g of Pork or Chicken mince

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

2 cups of mixed sliced cabbage and carrot (you can use Coleslaw mix)

1/2 cup of bean sprouts

3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Sweet Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

1 Tablespoon of chilli (I used minced chilli paste)

1 head lettuce (I used Cos but Iceberg works great too)