Asian Lettuce Wraps

I had some ground turkey that I had bought for our Memorial day campout to make sloppy joes, but ended up not making that meal. I needed to use the meat, but was not craving sloppy joes. I wanted something tonight with an Asian flare. I found this recipe and had most of the ingredients on hand (no water chestnuts). It was really good. Stan gobbled it up. I followed the recipe but then added more chili sauce and chili oil to give it more of a kick. Enjoy!

Ingredients

* 16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves (I used green leaf)
* 1 pound lean ground beef ( I used ground turkey)
* 1 tablespoon cooking oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
* 2 teaspoons minced pickled ginger
* 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
* 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
* 1 bunch green onions, chopped
* 2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Directions

1. Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
3. Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!