These quick Vietnamese beef lettuce wraps are my new go-to light dinner for spring. They’re gluten free, dairy free, paleo friendly, and easy to put together.
I am a huge fan of Vietnamese food. When Ben and I lived in Boston, our neighborhood had a lot of Vietnamese families and businesses. There was a great little supermarket within walking distance where I could pick up everything from fish sauce to rice paper wraps to long stalks of fresh lemongrass. One of our favorite restaurants, Pho Hoa, was just blocks away. I usually ordered the house special vermicelli plate. It had pretty much everything: grilled pork, shrimp on sugarcane, meatballs, grilled scallions, pickled carrots, chopped peanuts, and even a sliced spring roll all on top of vermicelli. It also came with rice paper wraps and a bowl of hot water so you could make your own fresh rolls.
These fast and easy Vietnamese lettuce wraps are loosely based on the flavors of that dish. Instead of vermicelli and rice paper wraps, we’re using fresh leaves of lettuce with a little jasmine rice inside to soak up the saucy beef. You could definitely use rice noodles or cauliflower rice instead if you prefer! The beef is quickly cooked with a little garlic and a sauce that combines tamari (or coconut aminos), fish sauce, honey, and sambal oelek. The result is an umami-packed flavor with just the right balance of sweet, salt, spice, and funk.
For toppings, we’ve got quick-pickled carrots, fresh radishes, and scallion oil. I spiralized the carrots so they’d look pretty (I use this spiralizer), but you can julienne them by hand or shred them with a grater or food processor if you prefer. They soak in rice vinegar seasoned with a little honey and salt while we prep the other ingredients, and are just tart enough by the time we’re ready to serve.
I included Easter egg radishes here because I’ve been getting them in my CSA basket and I love the pop of color, crunch, and bitter flavor they add. You could also use sliced cucumbers or even bean sprouts to add freshness and crunch if you prefer!
The final finishing touch is the scallion oil. If you haven’t tried this stuff, you are in for a treat and should prepare yourself to want to drizzle it on absolutely everything. It’s just scallions and oil with a pinch of sea salt, but the taste would have you believe it’s so much more. It provides both a richness and a vegetal, savory quality that really tie this dish together. To make scallion oil, you just heat your oil of choice (I recommend avocado oil because it’s neutral but good for high-heat cooking) until shimmering, pour it over the sliced scallions, and add a little salt. It’s as simple as that! The hot oil will sizzle in a satisfying way when it meets the scallions–they cook a tiny bit but still maintain their vibrant hue and fresh taste.
I hope you find a few minutes to give these Vietnamese beef lettuce wraps a try! If you’ve got a little more time on your hands, you’ll also love my Vietnamese caramelized pork meatball “vermicelli” bowls.
- 2 large carrots, spiralized
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons tamari (or coconut aminos)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (I recommend Red Boat)
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts)
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 head lettuce (such as bibb or butter), separated into leaves
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, warm (or sub cauliflower rice)
- 6 small radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
- To make the pickled carrots, toss all the ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
- To make the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- To make the scallion oil, place the scallions in a small, heatproof bowl. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl with the scallions, leaving enough in the skillet to coat the bottom of the pan. Add a pinch of salt to the scallion oil and stir.
- Next, return the pan to the heat to make the beef. Add the garlic and cook for one minute, then add the beef. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until browned and nearly cooked through. Add the sauce and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until the sauce is thickened and clings to the meat. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- To serve, layer the rice, beef, pickled carrots, and radishes in the lettuce leaves. Spoon a little scallion oil on top and enjoy.
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I can’t wait to try these. I’m a ground beef nut and of course, I love Vietnamese food. These look fresh and healthy, perfect for summer.
Thanks so much, Angela! These are an ideal summer meal!
Vietnamese lovers unite! I love eating Vietnamese food out but have very little experience preparing it at home. Definitely feeling like that needs to change! These lettuce wraps definitely are perfect for Spring, and I could see them being the perfect go-to on any busy weeknight!
Thanks so much, Julia! It’s one of my very favorite cuisines.
I was stoked to see the title of this recipe in my inbox! Unfortunately, there’s some things I’ll need to change before I can have it. Soy, coconut aminos, rice and xantham gum are not something I can have. I haven’t tried it yet, but I want to see if an idea for ‘rice’ made from daikon will compliment this recipe. I find cauliflower overpowers a lot of dishes. I may sub in a red Thai curry paste for the chili paste, but of course it will change the flavour profile. For the soy, my only idea thus far is seasame oil, but again it will have a completely different flavour. If you have another idea, please let me know!
If you can’t have tamari OR coconut aminos, you could try just using more fish sauce. It has a pretty similar profile with salt and umami tastes. You could also try ume plum vinegar, which has a flavor somewhat similar to soy. Mel Joulwan also has a recipe for a soy sauce/coconut aminos substitute that I haven’t tried, but looks promising: https://meljoulwan.com/2014/03/01/substitute-soy-sauce-coconut-aminos/
The sambal oelek you can just leave out if you don’t mind a mild dish. Alternatively, you can replace it with fresh sliced or chopped red Thai chiles for spice. Or, you can find a chili paste without xantham gum like this one: http://amzn.to/2mIlPrX (affiliate link). If you don’t like cauliflower rice, you can just leave the rice part out and have the meat and veggies in lettuce wraps!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll tuck this away in my list of things to try.
Great! 🙂
These wraps look amazing! I’ve been obsessed with Vietnamese food lately, especially since a new restaurant just opened up which serves something similar to what you described at Pho Hoa! I love that they serve their vermicelli bowls with rice paper!
Thank you so much, Lauren! Love rice paper!