Dietitian-n-da-Kitchen: ASIAN FUSION! SNN: Lettuce Wraps

Move over, P.F. Chang`s. There`s a new Oriental Foodie in town.

Who likes lettuce wraps?? Or, better yet, who doesn`t? I certainly can`t think of anyone. They are the perfect prelude to any Asian meal and are as simpl3 as stir fry!

A lot of Americanized Asian cuisine is overloaded with fat and DEFINITELY overloaded with sodium. Do you know how many milligrams of sodium are in one tablespoon of soy sauce? 900! Yikes! And to think, I used to douse my white rice in it as a kid when it was stir-fry night at the Luck house. Tsk, tsk. Since it`s hard to think of low sodium sauce combinations, I tried to focus on creating lettuce wrap filling that tasted fresh and healthy....not bland. This Sunday night, try noshing on this.....

Lettuce Wraps

20 oz (1.25 lbs) ground turkey breast

1 T canola oil

1- 4 oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 c carrots, julienned

1 c frozen edamame (not in shells)

3 T water

1 T soy sauce

2 T honey

1 T rice cooking wine

1/2 c cashew pieces

1 c cooked brown rice

16 green leaf lettuce leaves, washed and dried

black pepper to taste

Begin by heating oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground turkey and let it cook until no pink is left, breaking up the meat with a fork as it cooks. Drain the grease and set meat aside.

Using the same hot pan (keep temperature on medium heat), add water, frozen edamame, carrots, and mushrooms. Saute for 2 minutes. Add drained meat and cooked rice. Mix. Then add soy sauce, honey, and wine. Sprinkle mixture with black pepper. Toss to coat and continue to cook. After 2 minutes, taste and add more pepper if needed. Add cashew pieces. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

Lettuce leaves should be no larger than your hand. If they are, tear in half. To each leaf or leaf half, spoon 1/4 c of hot filling in the middle. Roll the lettuce leaf up and tuck the edges under. Repeat with remaining 15 leaves and serve immediately.