Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps

Last weekend, I made lettuce wraps for dinner and posted a brag on Twitter: "My recipe for lettuce wraps is frickin' genius!"

And now, as demanded by my friends and readers, here is that recipe. I think it's an awesome combination of spicy, sweet, salty, and sour. And it goes great with a cold beer!

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (or chicken or chopped shrimp)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon candied ginger spread (or finely chopped candied ginger pieces) *
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
zest & juice of one lime
handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

*Note: If you don't have candied ginger, you could use freshly grated ginger root with a bit of honey or agave nectar for sweetness.

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil, just until they begin to soften. Add the meat and brown, breaking it up as it cooks.

2. Add the curry paste & ginger spread to the pan and stir until it's melted & incorporated into the meat. Add the soy & oyster sauce, stir to combine.

3. Turn off the heat and add the lime zest, lime juice, and parsley. Taste for seasoning. Add more curry paste if you'd like it a bit spicier or more lime or more ginger or whatever you think it needs...but you should be able to taste each of the components: spicy, sour, sweet, salty.

4. Serve on iceberg or Boston bibb lettuce leaves.