Ground Turkey, Shiitake and Cashew Lettuce Cups
Published June 19, 2024
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons peanut or sunflower oil (or another neutral-tasting oil)
1 pound ground turkey
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 scallions, thinly sliced, dark green slices reserved for garnish
2 celery stalks, diced (about ¾ cup), tender leaves reserved for garnish
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cashews
Cold, crisp lettuce leaves, such as iceberg, little gem or butter lettuce
Hoisin sauce, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Whisk the wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce and white pepper together in a small bowl or cup; set aside.
- Step 2
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Add turkey and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, spread the meat to the edges in an even layer. Let cook until the bottom of the meat is deeply browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Then stir the turkey, breaking up the meat into small pieces.
- Step 3
Stir in the mushrooms and white and light green scallion slices and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan if anything begins to stick, until the mushrooms are glistening and scallions have softened, about 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Stir in the reserved sauce, the diced celery and the chopped cashews and cook until celery is warmed and meat is cooked through, about 1 minute. Immediately remove from heat. Taste and add soy sauce and white pepper as needed.
- Step 5
To serve, transfer to a platter and scatter with reserved scallion greens and celery leaves. At the table, smear a small amount of hoisin sauce on a lettuce leaf and fill with a spoonful of the turkey mixture.
Private Notes
Comments
I added 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger and a bunch of fresh cilantro. The butter lettuce fell apart so I turned it into a salad. It was delicious!
Our local “upscale” Chinese takeout in Northern California does a version of this with small diced jicama. And pine nuts instead of cashews. Both which I added successfully, plus some grated ginger. Some of us always play around with these basic recipes. Thanks for the great reminder. Will make this again.
So delicious. Couldn’t find oyster sauce, (I live in a rural community), so used some anchovies in olive oil.
Loved all the comments! I used ground turkey from Costco (about 1.5 pounds) and the 12 ounce pack of shiitake mushrooms from there. Added garlic and ginger and a little more soy sauce to the meat. Didn’t have green onions so I used a white onion and added bell peppers and a couple Anaheim peppers from my garden, good way to use the little ones. I tend to double the veggies in my recipes-added more celery. Wraps are too complicated so I made bowls with chopped lettuce and rice noodles. My son used all the hoisin so I tried Yangnyeom sauce from Trader Joe’s on top with sriracha. Definitely putting this recipe in our rotation. Going to add bok choy and cilantro next time
I stuck to the recipe (but did add ginger and garlic because I can’t help myself)…AND, I made the cucumber-cabbage salad with sesame (also NYTimes recipe) and we eat them together… delightfully yummy!
Anyone have a sub for oyster sauce? I do t have any!