Spicy Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

There is something to be said about playing with your food. When you have a whole menu board of ingredients in front of you and it is up to you to create the perfect combination to treat your tastebuds. Lettuce wraps are a perfect example of this and are commonly found on menus of pan-asian restaurant...P.F. Changs anyone?

Besides the fun of building your own wrap, this dish is fabulous because of the great contrast between the crisp lettuce and an interesting-spicy filling.

Rather than use ground chicken as many lettuce wraps seem to use, I wanted to go a slightly fresher route and use shrimp (though Derek, a bit weary of eating shrimp due to allergies, used chicken and it was tasty). I came across this recipe and immediately was hooked. It was much like another asian dish that I simply love - summer rolls! Those usually contain some cellophane noodles, shrimp or tofu, mint and/or basil, some sort of matchstick vegetable...and a fabulous dipping sauce. Therefore, this meal is a perfect hybrid of these two wonderful asian dishes.

Spicy Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
3/4 pound (16 to 20 per lb.) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (3 3/4 oz.) cellophane noodles (see notes)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot chile flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 3 small limes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla)
2 heads Boston or butter lettuce, cores trimmed and leaves separated, rinsed, and drained
1 large carrot, peeled, ends trimmed, and grated lengthwise into ribbons
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped
(Katie additions) green onions and bean sprouts

Preparation
1a. (Recipe Instructions)Put shrimp, salt, and pepper in a pot and add cold water to just cover shrimp. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until shrimp are bright pink and tails are curled, about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a colander and let cool.

1b. (Katie version)Peel and devein shrimp. Thread onto skewers and coat with a thin layer of chili-garlic sauce (found in Asian stores). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze some lime juice over the shrimp. Broil until cooked through.

2. Put cellophane noodles in a medium pot and cover with hot water. Cover pot and set aside until noodles are softened, at least 15 minutes. Drain noodles and (using kitchen scissors) cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Return noodles to pot, drizzle with rice vinegar, and toss. Cover and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix chile flakes and lime juice and let sit several minutes. Add garlic, sugar, and fish sauce; whisk until sugar is dissolved. Transfer sauce to a serving dish.


4. To assemble wraps, arrange some noodles in the middle of each lettuce leaf and top with 1 shrimp. Garnish with carrot, basil, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. Tuck up the bottom of each leaf and fold sides inward to eat. Drizzle with or dip into sauce.

Horrible picture but you get the idea. These are so fun to make. The peanuts really added to the depth of the dish - adding some additional crunch, some meatiness, and some salt. The dipping sauce was surprisingly really tasty. I thought it would be strong on the fish sauce with the measurements that it required but the lime really accented the fish sauce and made for a great combination. Rather than dipping, we just drizzled some on the wrap.

With the leftover ingredients, I simply threw them on top of some torn up lettuce and made a salad for the next day - couldn't let the fresh goodness in this dish go to waste!!