Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

I am really not going to bore you with nonstop chit-chat like I tend to do usually. Let’s go directly to the point here, shall we? That’s because I am so much in love with these wraps and can’t wait for you to try them.

On a cold, lazy afternoon, I took one look at my fridge contents and thought aloud, “lettuce wraps!”.

It was a good thing I decided to go healthy after obviously overindulging during Christmas break. Right now, I am stocking the fridge with all my favorite vegetables and fruits. As it happened, I had some jumbo shrimp in there as well. So shrimp lettuce wraps were just begging to be made.

Lettuce wraps are so easy to put together and you can make do with any ingredients you have lying around.

I made a fiery red chili-flecked soy-sesame-ginger dipping sauce to go with them. Sounds fancy, but really, you just begin with soy sauce, a bit of sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and end by adding a bit of sugar and vinegar to round out the flavors. I added a generous sprinkling of red chili flakes so that as the sauce sits for a while, it develops a very hot and spicy flavor, which goes really well with the wraps.

Look how fresh and inviting they look! They are great as a light, low-carb lunch. It was perfect for my self-imposed healthy-eating initiative.

You can swap out the shrimp for chicken, beef or any other protein also. You can also use any vegetables you have on hand. Serve them with my delicious dipping sauce, sit back and enjoy!

 Here’s how I put together these shrimp lettuce wraps.

SHRIMP LETTUCE WRAPS

You will need:

To marinate the shrimp,

• Shrimp – 1 lb, peeled and de-veined
• Ginger – 1 tbsp, grated or finely chopped
• Garlic – 2 cloves, grated or finely chopped
• Red chili flakes – 1 tsp
• Low sodium soy sauce – 1 tbsp
• Lime juice – 1 tbsp

For the lettuce wraps,

• Lettuce – 1 small head, cored (Iceberg, romaine or any kind will do)
• Shrimp – 1 lb, pan-grilled (see above)
• Carrots – 2, julienned
• Cucumber – 1, cut into thin strips
• Cabbage leaves – 1 cup, shredded
• Cilantro leaves – a small handful, roughly torn
• Lime wedges – to serve

How to:

• Combine all the marinade ingredients with the shrimp and marinate for half an hour.
• Heat a large skillet on medium-high and pan-fry the shrimp till they are opaque and cooked through. Remember to shake off any excess marinade liquid before adding the shrimp. This way, the shrimp will develop a nice char instead of simply braising in the liquid. And there really is no need to add any oil here.
• To assemble the lettuce wraps, cut any large lettuce leaves into a comfortable serving size, discarding the hard stems. Place a couple of pan-grilled shrimp on each lettuce leaf, add some chopped vegetables, cilantro leaves and a squeeze of lime juice.
• Fold over and secure with a toothpick. Serve immediately with dipping sauce (recipe follows).

Notes:

• Since we are marinating the shrimp in soy sauce, there really is no need for additional salt. But don’t forget to season it if you are not using soy sauce.
• If it is summer in your part of the world, feel free to fire up the grill outdoors to cook the shrimp.
• Replace shrimp with thin slices of chicken or other meat. You can also use a combination of cooked ground meat and beans for the wrap filling.
• You can also go vegetarian by using pan-grilled slices of tofu or paneer in place of shrimp.

SOY-SESAME-GINGER DIPPING SAUCE

You will need:

• Low sodium soy sauce – 2-3 tbsp
• Sesame oil – 1 tbsp
• Ginger – 1 tbsp, grated or finely chopped
• Garlic – 1 clove, grated or finely chopped (optional)
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Vinegar – 1-2 tsp (I used plain white vinegar, use rice wine vinegar if you have it)
• Red chili flakes – 2 tsp (or less, if you prefer a not-so-hot sauce)
• Water – a few tablespoons or as needed

How to:

• In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together, adding a bit of water to thin it, if needed. I ended up using a couple of tablespoons of water to thin the sauce as I like a light dipping sauce.
• Refrigerate the sauce for some time to develop the flavors and serve with the lettuce wraps.

How’s that for a fresh, no-carb, low fat recipe? Make sure to use low sodium soy sauce and you don’t have to fear going overboard with the salt content as well.

The hubs absolutely adored these shrimp lettuce wraps and had them as a meal!

Needless to say, these would make excellent party food as well. Just set out a lettuce wrapping station and let guests create their own lettuce wraps. How awesome-sauce would that be!

Try it for yourself and let me know how you like it.

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