These turkey Thai cups are inspired by larb, a Thai minced meat dish with toasted sticky rice stirred into it and often served with yet more sticky rice. Here, we’re forgoing the rice and instead spooning it into lettuce cups to save on calories and time without compromising on flavour. The combination of the sweet, sour and spicy minced turkey and the cold, crisp lettuce cups is moreish to say the least.
I serve these cups alongside a SlimFast Spicy Thai Noodle Box and a serving of the piquant cucumber salad, which, as a meal totals just 365 calories.
SlimFast Noodle Boxes are made with SlimTaki® noodles which are made from konjac, the Asian root vegetable that contains virtually no calories and zero fat and sugar. SlimFast were kind enough to send me lots to try and I’ve been enjoying them as a snack and as part of my dinner for a couple of weeks. They’re incredibly filling and tasty; it’s hard to believe they’re so low in calories.
The noodles are available in three flavours – Chicken Tikka Masala (81 calories), Spaghetti Bolognaise (76 calories) and Spicy Thai Noodles (70 calories).
Thai Turkey Lettuce Cups
Serves 4.
- 2 heads of mini little gem lettuce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 250g turkey mince
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 3 spring onions, topped and tailed and finely chopped
- 15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 10g fresh mint, roughly chopped
- 10g peanuts, finely chopped
Wash the lettuce leaves and dry lightly with kitchen roll or a clean tea towel. Arrange on a plate, the cups facing upwards and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and turkey and stir fry for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the soy and fish sauce, stir and fry for a few more minutes until the mixture becomes dry. Remove from the heat.
Make the sauce by mixing together the rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, juice and zest of the lime, sugar and chilli flakes. Sprinkle the turkey mixture into the lettuce cups and drizzle a tablespoon of sauce over the top. Add a little spring onion, coriander, mint and peanuts then serve.
198 calories per serving.
Cucumber Salad
This is such a simple salad that’s brought alive by the delicious sweet, sour and slightly hot dressing. Make it just before you serve it.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red pepper
- 1 carrot
- 4 spring onions
- 15g fresh coriander
- 15g fresh basil
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tsp red chilli, very finely chopped
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 10g peanuts, finely chopped
Prepare the salad first. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and run a teaspoon down the centre to remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thin batons about 7cm in length, discarding the ends. Prepare the pepper by removing the stalk and seeds and slicing into thin strips. Peel, top and tail and carrot and slice into thin batons. Top and tail the spring onions and slice lengthways into batons the same size as the other vegetables. Roughly chop the coriander and basil. Place all in the ingredients in a large bowl or serving dish.
Make the dressing by combining the juice of the lime, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, red chilli and brown sugar. Mix well with a whisk or fork and then pour over the salad. Toss well and sprinkle with finely chopped peanuts.
97 calories per serving
This post was supported by Slimfast.
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