I love wrapping food in other food. This is one culinary decision that can’t be beaten. So, I opted to house savory and sweet, Asian-style Vegan beef, sweet pink, and “forbidden” black rice in tender piece of Boston Bib lettuce. Oh yeah, and did I mention these protein-filled pouches are topped with crunchy sesame seeds, tasty carrot matchsticks, scallions, and cilantro? Not to mention, they have a delicious sesame-ginger-soy and Hoisin sauce. These healthy Asian vegan beef lettuce cups are the ultimate way to satisfy your Chinese food cravings, minus the bad stuff.
Neuroscience Nutritional Nugget -
Forbidden Rice Helps Keep your Hippocampus Healthy
Dubbed the “prohibited grain,” black rice is abundant in anthocyanin. This powerful antioxidant is the same phytonutrient that produces the dark blue hue of blueberries – another renowned brain food. According to Spoon University, black rice has a more noteworthy anthocyanin content than either black or blueberries, making it more effective in fighting oxidative stress in the part of your brain responsible for memory – the memory area of the brain your hippocampus.
Antioxidant are molecules that fight free radicals in your body. Free radicals damage your body and contribute to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In Alzheimer’s, the hippocampus is the part of the brain that is vulnerable to oxidative stress and memory loss.
The sweet pink rice is pinkish red due to a red pigment in the rice that is also high in anthocyanin in addition the iron in the pink rice helps your blood deliver oxygen to your brain. Iron is critical for the production of Hemoglobin, the molecule in your blood that transports oxygen.
SIS - Simple is Smart Tips
- My newest favorite gadget (Farmer Fred calls them gizzies) anyway; my latest is the Julienne peeler. If you love matchstick vegetables, this is the fastest and best way to make perfect vegetable matchsticks. This works best on firm vegetables like carrots, potatoes, radishes, etc.
- Make these Asian Vegan Beef Lettuce Cups extra healthy and nutritious with sweet pink and forbidden black rice. Wild rice, brown rice or red rice are also healthy and delicious.
The Ingredients you Need for Asian Vegan Beef Letuce Wraps
- Plant-Based Beef: Beyond Burger or Impossible Burger, I haven’t tried any of the other plant-based beef substitutes.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms: Shitake mushrooms are my favorite for this recipe, shower they can be hard o find.
- Diced Onions: Yellow, Spanish, or white onions. Don’t use red or sweet onions.
- Soy Sauce: Use low -sodium soy sauce.
- Hoisin Sauce: This sauce is a condiment made out of fermented soybean paste that is mixed with other flavors and spices. It adds an Asian, sweet, tangy, and spicy flavor to dishes.
- Green Dragon Sauce: Spicy tangy with just the right amount of heat. If your don’t have Green Dragon Sauce, use Siracha Sauce.
- Fresh Grated Ginger: Use a micro-plane to grate the ginger.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves.
- Rice Vinegar: Adds a little tang.
- Sesame oil: Added to the meat mixture for extra flavor.
- Lettuce: Boston Bib Lettuce is best.
How to make the Vegan Beef Lettuce Wraps:
Step by Step Instructions:
- Cook the pink rice and black rice while you prepare the vegan beef.
- Julienne a carrot with a Julienne Pealer. set aside
- Thinly slice the scallions and set aside.
- Mix the soy sauce with the Hoisin Sauce and set aside
- Brown the Vegan Beyond Beef in a large skillet on med-high heat. (about 4-6 minutes)
- Add the garlic, fresh ginger, Dagon sauce, rice vinegar, and soy/Hoison sauce mixture. Cook for 4 minutes or until almost all of the moisture is evaporated.
- Stir in the Sesame oil.
- Assemble the Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps.
- Add 2 tbsp of the pink rice, black rice, and vegan beef mixture to the lettuce leaf.
- Garnish with the Julienne carrots, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds.
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Asian Vegan Beef Lettuce Wraps
Equipment
- 1 Julienne Pealer
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Ingredients
- 1 head Boston Bib Lettuce
Vegan Beef Filling
- 1 lb Beyond Beef or other plant-based beef.
- 10 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms chopped fine
- 1 cup diced onions
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
- 2 tsp Dragon or Siracha sauce. (more if like spicy)
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Base
- 1 cup Sweet pink rice cooked according to pkg instructions (see notes)
- 1 cup Forbidden black rice cooked according to the package insructions.
Garnish
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup Thinly sliced scallions - about 2 scallions
- 2 tbsp Toasted Sesame seeds
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Cook the pink rice and black rice while you preparing the vegan beef.
- Julienne a carrot with a Julienne Pealer. set aside
- Thinly slice the scallions and set aside.
- Mix the soy sauce with the Hoisin Sauce and set aside
- Brown the Vegan Beyond Beef in a large skillet on med-high heat. (about 4-6 minutes)
- Add the garlic, fresh ginger, Dagon sauce, rice vinegar, and soy/Hoison sauce mixture. Cook for 4 minutes or until almost all of the moisture is evaporated.
- Stir in the Sesame oil.
Assemble the Lettuce Cups
- Take a leaf off of the Butter Lettuce head.
- Add 2 tbsp of the pink rice, black rice, and vegan beef mixture to the lettuce leaf
- Garnish with the Julienne carrots, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds.
