Moo Shu Beef and Lettuce Wraps

The Moo Shu filling is great in lettuce wraps, but also makes a terrific salad topped with Won Ton strips.

This recipe is pretty easy to follow and turns out a restaurant-style entree, or you could use it as a party appetizer.  I customize it for our family's tastes by using a box of pre-sliced mushrooms and spinning all the cooked ingredients in the food processor in the end, so we have a finely diced bowl full of filling that we wrap in butter lettuce leaves (this head of lettuce comes in a plastic "bowl" and usually has the roots attached.  It has a mild and buttery taste that goes nicely with the spiced filling. Credit: this recipe was originally on the Weight Watchers website; the link changes over time but in 2020, this was the URL.

  • 1 pound extra lean ground beef (93/7 = 93% beef, 7% fat)
  • 1 medium onion, preferably 1015 or other sweet yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons ginger root, peeled and grated
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 cup sliced bok choy (cut out a small, long triangle from the inner white stalk where it is thickest and discard the triangle, then slice remaining stalk and leaves)
  • 1 large bell pepper (red, green, yellow, or orange), chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 box fresh, sliced mushrooms
  • 1 head butter lettuce (can also use Bibb, iceberg, green leaf or red tip lettuce)
  • Pam or a little sesame oil

Summary:

Coat a large non-stick skillet with sprays of Pam or a little sesame oil and saute the beef, onion, ginger and garlic on high heat for 8 minutes.  Since you are going to put all this in a food processor, it doesn't matter if it cooks in big chunks or small ones.  Add rest of ingredients, except lettuce, and fry for 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat and use a plastic one-cup measuring cup to transfer the hot ingredients from the skillet to a food processor.  Whirl everything for 10 seconds on high speed to produce a finely diced filling.  Process longer if you still have some big chunks.  You may need to open the food processor and push the chunks down closer to the blade.

Serve the filling with cold, crisp lettuce leaves.  To eat, place a spoon of the filling into the center of a lettuce leaf, fold the lettuce over the filling and eat like a burrito.

Vegetarian Version

  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
  • 1 medium onion, preferably 1015 or other sweet yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons ginger root, peeled and grated
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 2 cups sliced bok choy (cut out a small, long triangle from the inner white stalk where it is thickest and discard the triangle, then slice remaining stalk and leaves)
  • 2 large bell peppers (red, green, yellow, or orange), chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 box fresh, sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 head butter lettuce (can also use Bibb, iceberg, green leaf or red tip lettuce)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons sesame oil, divided

Coat a large non-stick skillet with 1 Tablespoon sesame oil and heat on high for 1 minute. Saute cabbage onion, ginger and garlic on high heat for 8 minutes.  Since you are going to put all this in a food processor, it doesn't matter if it cooks in big chunks or small ones.  Add rest of ingredients, except lettuce, and fry for 3 more minutes.   Add more sesame oil if vegetables begin to stick to skillet. Remove from heat and use a plastic one-cup measuring cup to transfer the hot ingredients from the skillet to a food processor.  Whirl everything for 10 seconds on high speed to produce a finely diced filling.  Process longer if you still have some big chunks.

Serve the filling with cold, crisp lettuce leaves.  To eat, place a spoon of the filling into the center of a lettuce leaf, fold the lettuce over the filling and eat like a burrito.