This is our attempt to recreate one of our favorite meals from 30 years ago at P.F. Chang's. The fun is scooping up some seasoned turkey, tossing it into a lettuce leaf and taking in all the wonderful flavors.
Times are approximate and may vary depending on your equipment, ingredient sizes, and cooking pace.
Estimated calories per serving: 600
Equipment
- Pan
- Digital kitchen scale (grams and ounces)
- Instant-read meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 11 ½ oz (326 g) Bibb lettuce (approximately 2 heads; or substitute 2 heads of butter lettuce or 1 large head of romaine lettuce)
- 24 oz (680 g) 99% lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- salt (to taste)
Turkey Sauce
- ½ head of garlic
- 4 oz (113 g) canned mushrooms (approximately one 4-ounce can, drained)
- 1 jalapeño (if you like heat)
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
Vegetables
- 4 green onions
- 5 oz (142 g) canned water chestnuts (approximately one 8-ounce can, drained)
Asian Sauce
- 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 4 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Steps
Preparation
Turkey Sauce
- Mince the garlic and place it in a large bowl, big enough to hold the ground turkey.
- If using the jalapeño, mince it with or without the seeds, depending on how much heat you like, and add it to the bowl.
- Drain the canned mushrooms. If they are not already sliced, slice them. Add them to the bowl.
- Add the ginger paste and mix everything together.
Vegetables
- Thinly slice the green onions and place them in a small bowl.
- Drain the water chestnuts, coarsely chop them, and add them to the same bowl. Set aside.
Asian Sauce
- In another small bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, rice vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Lettuce
- Wash and dry the lettuce, then carefully separate the leaves, keeping them as large and intact as possible.
- Place the leaves in a large serving bowl and set it on the table.
Cook the Turkey
- Add the ground turkey to the large bowl containing the Turkey Sauce ingredients. Mix thoroughly, using your hands if necessary.
- In the pan, heat the toasted sesame oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the turkey mixture to the pan. Cook for about 10 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently to break up and crumble the turkey, until it is cooked through, browned, most of the moisture has cooked off, and the garlic no longer tastes raw. The turkey must reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add the green onion and water chestnut mixture to the cooked turkey. Stir to combine.
- Pour the Asian Sauce over the turkey mixture and toss until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Taste and add salt if needed, although you probably won’t need any.
Serve
- Place the bowl of turkey mixture on the table next to the bowl of lettuce leaves.
- To eat, take a lettuce leaf, spoon some turkey mixture into it, and enjoy!
Notes
Calorie Estimate
We estimate calories by adding the contribution of each ingredient using nutritional information from USDA FoodData Central, supplemented by manufacturer nutrition labels and other documented sources when needed.| Ingredient | Calories |
|---|---|
| 99% lean ground turkey | 762 |
| Toasted sesame oil | 120 |
| Oyster sauce | 80 |
| Bragg’s Liquid Aminos | 60 |
| Canned water chestnuts | 45 |
| Bibb lettuce | 42 |
| Canned mushrooms | 28 |
| Head of garlic | 22 |
| Green onion | 19 |
| Crushed red pepper flakes | 6 |
| Ginger paste | 5 |
| Jalapeño | 4 |
| Rice vinegar | 0 |
| Salt | 0 |
Entire recipe: 1,193 calories
Per serving (2 servings): 597 calories
All of Living in Beauty Recipes
We are working on a series of recipes that are easy to fix in an RV and are approximately 600 calories per person for two people. Ultimately, they will be compiled into “The Bean Counter Cookbook.”