Beef San Choy Bau

Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Sugar-free | No added fats or oils | Easy dinner 

Makes 2-4 servings

Why it’s delicious

If you love lettuce wraps, then this dish is right up your alley. Prepared with lean beef mince (ground beef) that is dry fried in an aromatic spice blend with onions and garlic, it’s a flavour bomb thanks to the finish of my Sticky Sauce right before serving. A cross between Chinese and Vietnamese, we take the wraps one step further by adding crunchy cucumber and red capsicum and then top it all off with some freshly picked herbs. 

Helpful notes + tips

This recipe requires Bridget's Sticky Sauce, a healthy cooking sauce I use in many of my recipes. It's simple, healthy and packs a lot of flavour without adding unnecessary calories. If you need the recipe, you can get it here.

Cowboy Spice blend As with the tamari sauce, this is one spice blend that you are going to want to make more of and keep for other epic uses. 

Swap out the meat Instead of beef, you can use chicken mince or for a vegetarian option, you can use chopped mushrooms and tofu

Ingredients

Cowboy spice blend

• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp garam masala
• 1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon

• 3 tbsp Bridget's Sticky Sauce
• 300 g lean beef mince (ground beef)
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• Himalayan salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8-12 small lettuce cups, either baby cos or iceberg
• 2 Lebanese (small) cucumbers, sliced into sticks
• 1 red capsicum (red pepper), sliced into matchsticks
• Small handful of fresh basil leaves
• Small handful of fresh coriander leaves

1. Prepare the cowboy spice blend by mixing the cumin, garam masala and cinnamon together. Store in a small airtight container in the pantry and use when required. 
2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on high heat and break in the ground beef. Stirring well with a wooden spoon, continue to break up the beef as it cooks and browns for about 5 minutes. 
3. Add the onion and garlic and stir to combine well. Allow the mince to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring often until the mince is well cooked, browned and dry. 
4. Turn the heat down to medium and add 2 heaped tablespoons of the cowboy spice blend and stir through. Add 3 tablespoons of Sticky Sauce and stir through. 
5. Taste the mince for flavour, adding salt and pepper as you deem necessary. 
6. Assemble the lettuce cups, cucumber, capsicum, fresh herbs and a spoonful of the mince on a plate and make up your lettuce wraps as you like.