Bird Nests

This comes from my sister-in-law, who adapted it from a Susan Branch Cookbook. I've done some adapting myself. It is fun and easy to make. Every time I make it, I think "What a great company dish! It tastes so good and it's fun to eat with your hands." And then we eat with our hands, and I realize all over again why we've never had people over with this dish. Be forewarned: It's messy!! But, yummy.


What you need

1 head lettuce, any kind works but I like Romaine or Red Leaf

for the dipping sauce:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 dash hot sauce

for the main dish:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (I have also used beef and chicken before, all are good)
1 cup red pepper, finely chopped (this is usually too expensive for me, so I use tomato and add it at the end)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 1/2 Tbs fresh ginger, minced or grated/micro-planed
2 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. lime juice (this is equivalent to squeezing 1 lime)
4 green onions, sliced thin
handful salted peanuts, chopped, as garnish at the table

Separate and wash your lettuce. I lay it out on a platter to put on the table.

Combine your dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl. You can pour it into little individual bowls to serve at each place, if you wish.

Heat olive oil in skillet, add turkey, red pepper (if your using it), and salt and pepper. Cook till no longer pink, breaking up chunks as it cooks. Add ginger, soy and lime juice and cook for another minute. Just before serving, toss in the green onions. (Here is where I would also add the tomatoes.)

To eat: Grab a piece of lettuce, we often tear them in half, spoon in some meat mixture, drizzle on the dipping sauce (can you drizzle dipping sauce?), sprinkle on some peanuts and stuff it in your mouth!

Last time, I served this with fried rice, and we all ended up topping the meat with the rice in the lettuce leaf. It was wonderful!