Recipes

Vietnamese Grilled Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps

The keys to this dish are fresh ingredients and a flavorful sauce made with chilies, citrus, garlic and Vietnamese fish sauce. Not into fish sauce? Sub it out for soy sauce instead.

Ingredients

Vietnamese Sauce

1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup water
¼ cup Vietnamese fish sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 small garlic cloves, peeled finely minced
12 small fresh red chilies, finely chopped or ¼ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes

Lettuce Wraps

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 lb Armanino Turkey Meatballs, defrosted (about 16 1-oz meatballs)
8 oz dried bean thread or rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to package instructions and cooled
12 butter lettuce leaves, washed and dried
1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded or grated
½ English cucumber, sliced into thin half moons
fresh herb leaves, e.g. mint, cilantro, and/or Thai basil

Directions

For the sauce/marinade: in a medium bowl, combine the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the garlic and chili and mix until well-combined. Set the sauce aside for about 10-15 minutes then taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Sauce can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated until needed.
In a medium bowl, mix ¼ cup of the sauce/marinade with the oil, add the Armanino Gourmet Turkey Meatballs, toss to coat and let marinate while you prep the remaining ingredients and cook the noodles. If using wooden skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a grill to medium high.
Thread the meatballs on metal or soaked wooden skewers.
Grill the meatball skewers, covered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until meatballs have a nice sear. Give a turn or two during grilling. Keep a close eye if using wooden skewers to make sure they don’t burn.
Remove the meatballs from the grill and remove the skewers.
To serve: fill a 1-2 lettuce leaves with a handful of rice noodles, some grated carrots, a few pieces of cucumber, top with 2-3 grilled meatballs, garnish with some fresh herbs and a drizzle of the sauce.
Serve immediately with additional sauce for dipping.

Chef’s Tips

Any large leaf lettuce will work here – romaine, green or red leaf, etc.
To make things a bit easier for serving, combine the noodles, carrots, cucumbers, cucumber and chopped herbs and toss with the sauce.