Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with peanut sauce

3 de January de 2024

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Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps are a lower-cal model of Vietnamese rice paper rolls. The contemporary herbs and peanut dipping sauce are key right here! The whole lot else you possibly can change: prawns for shredded rooster, fish and even tofu, with any shreddable veg you need. Wonderful no-cook meal!

Vietnamese lettuce wraps

These lettuce wraps should not strictly Vietnamese genuine (so far as I do know), however they actually embrace all that we love about Vietnamese meals – contemporary and light-weight but by no means boring, utilizing an abundance of crunchy greens, herbs and a killer peanut dipping sauce.

That’s positively a signature of Vietnamese meals – wickedly good sauces that make all the things scrumptious! Actually, you might simply smother a bowl of in any other case bland boiled greens in that sauce and it’ll make it 100% scoff-able!

Vietnamese peanut sauce for Vietnamese lettuce wraps

Drizzling sauce on Vietnamese lettuce wraps

Substances in Vietnamese lettuce wraps

Right here’s what it is advisable to make these. Sure there are a good few elements. However when you collect all the things, it’s only a matter of a little bit of chopping then piling all the things on platters for folks to assist themselves. No cooking! 🙌🏻

The peanut dipping sauce

I’m placing this primary as a result of, frankly, it makes you neglect you’re maintaining a healthy diet as a result of it’s so good!

Pure peanut butter – Pure peanut butter is made with JUST peanuts – no sugar, oil or different components – so the peanut flavour is stronger. It’s additionally thinner which makes it extra appropriate for making sauces – industrial unfold will make the sauce a lot thicker. You’ll pure peanut butter within the well being meals part or alongside different spreads in common grocery shops.
Hoisin – Candy and savoury, this can be a flavour shortcut so don’t skip it!
Lime juice – For contemporary tang. Substitute with rice vinegar.
LOW FAT coconut milk – Thinner than full fats (so the sauce isn’t too thick) and likewise the coconut flavour just isn’t as sturdy so it doesn’t overwhelm the opposite flavours. Should you solely have full fats, that’s wonderful, simply skinny it with slightly water, instructions within the recipe notes.
Garlic – As a result of it makes it higher.
Sambal oelak – A chilli paste with flavourings, for a bit of warmth. It doesn’t make this sauce spicy. Substitute with another chilli sauce or paste (simply add a bit and style) or be at liberty to go away it out.
Darkish soy – Deepens the sauce color and provides flavour plus salt. You possibly can substitute with common or gentle soy sauce, however the sauce color can be a bit paler.
Sugar – For a contact of sweetness. Should you use full fats coconut milk or industrial peanut butter unfold, you won’t want this.
Salt – Simply the soy isn’t sufficient, and including extra made it too soy-saucey, I discovered, and overtook the peanut flavour. So I switched to including a little bit of salt.

THE LETTUCE WRAPS

Prawns/shrimp – Right here in Australia, we’re blessed with nice prawns! Bought pre-cooked, boiled straight out of the water to lock in freshness. Nonetheless, be at liberty to cook dinner your individual, I’ve included instructions within the recipe notes.

Different protein choices – As a result of the peanut sauce is so good, you possibly can actually use any protein even when it’s plain! Assume – shredded poached rooster, or leftover pan-fried fish or salmon (flake into massive chunks), and even non-Asian meals like bits of roast beef. And naturally, leftover Lemongrass Hen or Pork would actually be good. 🙂
Lettuce – Use any lettuce you need appropriate for wrapping or stuffing. I’ve used child cos (romaine) that are good and crisp, that are pure boat-shapes making them ideally suited for making lettuce wraps. Butter lettuce, which have mushy leaves so that they wrap with out breaking, are additionally ideally suited. Iceberg lettuce may also be used.
Beansprouts – Perky and contemporary, and no chopping! (Tip: Retailer in a container of water, totally submerged, change the water each couple of days. They’ll keep few for every week, in comparison with 2 – 3 days within the bag).
Cucumber – Julienned. Not too finely, a little bit of crunchy is good!

Recent herbs – The basic mixture of mint and coriander/cilantro, for use in abundance! For these of you who can’t stand coriander/cilantro, use extra mint plus chives and/or inexperienced onion (lower into batons).
Vermicelli noodles – or glass noodles. These fill out the meal a bit so it’s not simply greens. However in case you’re actually counting carbs, you might omit them or go for a lower-carb possibility like konnyaku (konjac) that are the well-known Japanese zero-calorie noodles that you may even discover in common grocery shops nowadays (like this one at Woolworths in Australia).
Peanuts – for sprinkling.
Birds eye chilli – for an non-obligatory hit of contemporary warmth and a stunning sprinkle of purple color the platter.

QUICK PICKLED VEGETABLES – non-obligatory!

You possibly can completely simply use plain carrots, finely julienned utilizing a shredded or field grater, or some nifty knife work.

Or you possibly can add nice further flavour into your wraps by making Vietnamese pickled greens! These are the identical pickles utilized in Banh Mi and it’s one of many issues that makes it so particular: the crunch with the tang balanced with a little bit of candy. Right here’s what you want:

Carrot and daikon (white radish) – These are the 2 pickled greens generally utilized in Vietnam, together with in Banh Mi. They’re lower into skinny batons so that you get a terrific crunch (albeit pickled-softened-crunch!) once you chew in them. Don’t be tempted to shortcut chopping the greens through the use of a field grater. I attempted (the lazy cook dinner in me couldn’t resist) – and it simply wasn’t the identical. An enormous vinegary pile of coleslaw-like mush. I missed the crunch!
Rice wine vinegar – That is the vinegar used for the pickled greens, an Asian vinegar constituted of rice. Substitute with apple cider vinegar.
Salt and sugar – For pickling. These pickled greens are a bit candy and bit salty, good stability between the 2.

Find out how to make Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps

It’s no cook dinner, in case you use pre-cooked prawns like I do!

Soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water for five minutes (or no matter your packet says). Then drain, rinse below water (so that they don’t stick collectively) and permit extra water to empty off totally earlier than utilizing (about 5 minutes within the colander).
Fast pickled greens – Dissolve the sugar and salt in scorching water, then combine within the vinegar.
Pickle the carrot and daikon for two hours then drain. Or hold them within the selecting liquid for weeks!
Reduce the prawns in half horizontally and take away the vein (that’s a pleasant phrase for poop shoot which I actually needed to keep away from writing, however for make clear, determined I higher embody it 😂).

I like to chop the prawns thinner as a result of they sit inside lettuce wraps higher. I discover entire prawns slightly too chunky, although if I used to be utilizing small prawns I might use them entire.

Lay all of it out on a platter

Mainly, as soon as the above prep has been performed, you simply lay all the things out on an enormous platter or in varied bowls, plonk it on the desk and inform folks make your individual dinner! 😂

ASSEMBLING THE LETTUCE WRAPS

And as for the lettuce wrap half, there actually aren’t any guidelines. However there’s a information for the order wherein I do it:

Noodles first then no matter greens you wish to add. As a result of – newsflash – you don’t must stuff all the things you see on the platter into each lettuce wrap!!
Prawns – High with prawns and stuff the herbs down the facet.
Sauce – Drizzle with sauce, sprinkle with peanuts and chilli.
Then bundle it up and chew!

Vietnamese lettuce wrap bundled and ready to eat

And there you will have it. One other one in every of my DIY unfold meals. I’m an enormous fan of those for gatherings! Take extra of what you want, keep away from the stuff you don’t. The whole lot will be ready nicely upfront, piled onto the platters then saved within the fridge till you’re able to serve.

Bonus: It travels nicely. In truth, I despatched the platters you see on this submit to my workforce at RecipeTin Meals. They cook dinner for the weak 5 days every week, so it’s the least I can do to cook dinner for them every so often. (Properly, technically shoot leftovers…..similar, similar! 😈).

Obtained extra ideas for fillings? Share them under so others can learn your concepts! – Nagi x

Watch methods to make it

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Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with peanut sauce

Vietnamese lettuce wraps