Ground Turkey, Shiitake and Cashew Lettuce Cups

By Cybelle Tondu

Published June 20, 2024

Ground Turkey, Shiitake and Cashew Lettuce Cups — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(14)
Notes: Read community notes

Salad and stir-fry in one, lettuce cups are a relaxed summer dinner that combine textures and temperatures to great effect. Cool, crunchy lettuce leaves smeared with hoisin sauce are all that are needed to contain this quick-cooking filling on a hot day, although steamed rice and a cold beer would make lovely accompaniments. The filling can be adapted easily by substituting ground pork for the turkey, firm tofu for the mushrooms, carrots or peas for the celery and peanuts or pine nuts for the cashews.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

3tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1tablespoon oyster sauce
2teaspoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
½teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more to taste
2tablespoons peanut or sunflower oil (or another neutral-tasting oil)
1pound ground turkey
4ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2scallions, thinly sliced, dark green slices reserved for garnish
2celery stalks, diced (about ¾ cup), tender leaves reserved for garnish
2tablespoons roughly chopped cashews
Cold, crisp lettuce leaves, such as iceberg, little gem or butter lettuce
Hoisin sauce, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Whisk the wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce and white pepper together in a small bowl or cup; set aside.
Step 2
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Add turkey and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, spread the meat to the edges in an even layer. Let cook until the bottom of the meat is deeply browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Then stir the turkey, breaking up the meat into small pieces.
Step 3
Stir in the mushrooms and white and light green scallion slices and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan if anything begins to stick, until the mushrooms are glistening and scallions have softened, about 2 minutes.
Step 4
Stir in the reserved sauce, the diced celery and the chopped cashews and cook until celery is warmed and meat is cooked through, about 1 minute. Immediately remove from heat. Taste and add soy sauce and white pepper as needed.
Step 5
To serve, transfer to a platter and scatter with reserved scallion greens and celery leaves. At the table, smear a small amount of hoisin sauce on a lettuce leaf and fill with a spoonful of the turkey mixture.

Ratings

4 out of 5

14 user ratings

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Jessica2 days ago

I used half ground pork, half 93% lean ground turkey and reduced the oil a bit, and that went well. Raw cashews. Yummy!

Marcie2 days ago

So delicious. Couldn’t find oyster sauce, (I live in a rural community), so used some anchovies in olive oil.

D2 days ago

Added more soy sauce and hoisin directly to the meat mixture. Enjoyed by all!

Jennifer3 days ago

I used 93% fat free dark meat turkey, it was rather dry, next time I'll get a higher fat %. I found it rather bland so added more oyster and some hoisin sauce to the turkey. I thought cashews were an odd choice, next time I'll use peanuts.

David Morris4 days ago

Cashews raw or roasted? Salted?

Kim5 days ago

Cooked according to recipe except no scallions. Really good and super easy.

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