BEEF LETTUCE CUPS

I love this meal because it is fresh, light and oh so easy to make! This dish could also be called San Choy Bau, however I often make my Bau with either chicken or pork mince or a combination of both. I'm not going to lie to you; eating these cups is messy! However it is also very fun and is an incredibly light meal. Make sure to use extra lean beef mince to save on the calories. 

INGREDIENTS

Beef 

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 spring onion, finely chopped

500g extra lean beef mince  

Fillings

•  2 medium carrots, grated
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 Lebanese cucumber or 1/3 of a Continental cucumber, finely diced
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 2 baby cos lettuces, each leaf washed and gently removed from the core so as not to break the leaf

Dressing

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce or tamari
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

COOKING 

1. Swirl 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a medium fry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and spring onion and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just starting to soften. Add the mince and cook, breaking up the lumps with a large spoon, for around 5 minutes or until the mince is browned and no red flesh remains. Remove from the heat. 

2. Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients with a few tablespoons of water and stirring well. 

3. Pour the carrots, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onion into the cooked beef and stir well to combine. You can either pour the dressing on top and toss well or you can individually serve the dressing in step 4. 

4. Assemble the cups by simply spooning the filling into each cup and pouring the dressing on top of each cup, if you have not followed step 3. Depending on how many lettuce leaves you have and on how much filling you serve into each cup, each person should be served 4-5 lettuce cups. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / max 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 7-8 minutes 

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