Recipe Asian Beef Meatballs in Lettuce Cups

[cupcakechef]

I was going through my old Martha Stewart magazines this afternoon, and tearing out recipe pages I wanted to keep from them...this one struck up my fancy!

We use a lot of ground beef here just because of price and convenience - and I like finding new ways to use it! I think I'm going to give it a try in the coming couple of weeks once the new year calms down!

Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup chopped garlic
• 3 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3 scallions, chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1 pound ground beef (80 percent lean)
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce, such as nam pla
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• lettuce leaves, cilantro sprigs, sliced Thai chiles, and chopped roasted peanuts, for serving

Method:

1. Finely chop together garlic, ginger, and scallions. In a bowl, gently combine garlic mixture with ground beef, fish sauce, and salt. Form mixture into meatballs, each 1 inch in diameter.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high. Working in batches, fry meatballs until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes a batch.
   
3. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and lime juice. Serve meatballs in lettuce cups, with lime mayonnaise cilantro, thai chilies and peanuts for serving.

 

[purplepen88]

I do a very similar dish but I don't make meatballs I just cook up the ground beef, add sesame oil, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Then serve the beef mixture in boston lettuce leaves to wrap. My husband loves to top it with siracha sauce to give it some heat and added flavour. I like to top it with chopped cilantro and my boys like chopped green onions. So easy and so tasty.

 

[cupcakechef]

I do a very similar dish but I don't make meatballs I just cook up the ground beef, add sesame oil, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Then serve the beef mixture in boston lettuce leaves to wrap. My husband loves to top it with siracha sauce to give it some heat and added flavour. I like to top it with chopped cilantro and my boys like chopped green onions. So easy and so tasty.

That's a good idea! Sounds a lot quicker too than rolling it into meatballs - and these days I feel like time is something I don't have enough of, so anything that makes life a bit easier is a pleasant thing!

 

[L_B]

I do a very similar dish but I don't make meatballs I just cook up the ground beef, add sesame oil, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Then serve the beef mixture in boston lettuce leaves to wrap. My husband loves to top it with siracha sauce to give it some heat and added flavour. I like to top it with chopped cilantro and my boys like chopped green onions. So easy and so tasty.

I like the sound of doing it this way! I am going to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Diane Lane]

I like the sound of both ways, as well as putting it in other wraps. If it has fish sauce, I'm pretty much there. This would probably be good with ground pork, as well. I sometimes buy that because it's less expensive than beef, or I might try mixing the two for a dish like this.