Thai-Style Beef Lettuce Wraps

Adapted from Sara Foster’s Casual Cooking

Lettuce is generally unattractive to kids in a salad, but when you wrap slices of tender beef with lettuce leaves and dip them in sauce, it’s another story. These wraps were a hit at our house. The beef is perfectly marinated and makes a nice lunch for the next day. I served this with warm sesame noodles and a side of steamed green beans sprinkled with sesame oil, a pinch of salt and sesame seeds.

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
Grated zest and juice of one orange
Grated zest and juice of one lime
2 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon honey
1 small red chile, seeds removed and thinly sliced
1-1/2 pounds skirt steak
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 head of Bibb lettuce, washed and dried well

To make the marinade, combine cilantro, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice, scallions, garlic, honey and chile in a small bowl.
Place beef in a shallow dish and spoon half of the marinade over the beef. Turn each piece to coat with marinade, then cover and allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. You may also prepare the marinade the evening before and allow it to sit covered in the refrigerator overnight. If you do so, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
Heat the grill over medium-high heat. Oil the grates using a neutral oil (such as canola). Place steak on the hot grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer steak to a cutting board and cover with foil. Allow steak to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
To serve, slice the steak into thin pieces diagonally against the grain. Serve with the lettuce leaves and the reserved marinade.
Quick Tips
1. If you will be making this dish as well as the warm sesame noodles, create the marinade at the same time as the sauce for the noodles since they have many of the same ingredients. This will noticeably speed up your preparation time.
2. I used jarred ginger for this recipe, but you’ll want to use fresh ginger root for the noodles. If you are making both recipes, you may want to chop some additional fresh ginger for the beef marinade.

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 10 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

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