Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with peanut sauce

January 3, 2024

1

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

Vietnamese lettuce wraps

These lettuce wraps usually are not strictly Vietnamese genuine (so far as I do know), however they actually embrace all that we love about Vietnamese meals – contemporary and lightweight 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 every thing scrumptious! Truthfully, you would 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

Components in Vietnamese lettuce wraps

Right here’s what you could make these. Sure there are a good few elements. However when you collect every thing, it’s only a matter of a little bit of chopping then piling every thing 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 overlook 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, it is 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 just a little 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’ll be able to substitute with common or mild soy sauce, however the sauce color shall be a bit paler.
Sugar – For a contact of sweetness. Should you use full fats coconut milk or industrial peanut butter unfold, you may not 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 prepare 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 may actually use any protein even when it’s plain! Assume – shredded poached hen, 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 Rooster 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 supreme for making lettuce wraps. Butter lettuce, which have tender leaves so that they wrap with out breaking, are additionally supreme. Iceberg lettuce will 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!

Contemporary 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 (reduce 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 would 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 lately (like this one at Woolworths in Australia).
Peanuts – for sprinkling.
Birds eye chilli – for an non-obligatory hit of contemporary warmth and a beautiful sprinkle of crimson color the platter.

QUICK PICKLED VEGETABLES – non-obligatory!

You’ll be able to completely simply use plain carrots, finely julienned utilizing a shredded or field grater, or some nifty knife work.

Or you may 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 reduce into skinny batons so that you get a terrific crunch (albeit pickled-softened-crunch!) once you chunk in them. Don’t be tempted to shortcut reducing the greens by utilizing a field grater. I attempted (the lazy prepare 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 steadiness between the 2.

Methods to make Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps

It’s no prepare 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 maintain them within the choosing 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 embrace it 😂).

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

Lay all of it out on a platter

Mainly, as soon as the above prep has been executed, you simply lay every thing out on a large 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 are not any guidelines. However there’s a information for the order during which I do it:

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

Vietnamese lettuce wrap bundled and ready to eat

And there you could have it. One other one in all 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. All the pieces may be ready effectively prematurely, piled onto the platters then saved within the fridge till you’re able to serve.

Bonus: It travels effectively. In actual fact, I despatched the platters you see on this publish to my group at RecipeTin Meals. They prepare dinner for the susceptible 5 days every week, so it’s the least I can do to prepare dinner for them every so often. (Nicely, technically shoot leftovers…..identical, identical! 😈).

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

Watch find out how to make it

Hungry for extra? Subscribe to my publication and observe alongside on Fb, Pinterest and Instagram for the entire newest updates.

Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with peanut sauce

Vietnamese lettuce wraps