The entire family will enjoy this simple, delectable pepper steak recipe whether served with white or brown rice.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 32 1-bite wraps |
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 small lime, zested and juiced
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 cup cubed cooked chicken
- 32 leaves fresh spinach
- ½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts
- 32 leaves Thai basil
- 8 slices lime, quartered
- ¼ cup finely chopped Thai chile peppers
- ⅓ cup diced shallot
- ⅓ cup diced fresh ginger
Instructions
- Combine coconut, peanuts, shallot, ginger, lime zest and juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, and water in a small saucepan, swirl to mix, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces by about half and starts to thicken up.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before using. Sauce will get thicker once cooled. If sauce is too thick, thin out with a little bit of water. If it’s too runny, simply put it back on the heat and reduce it a little more.
- To make the wraps, place a heaping teaspoon of chicken in a spinach leaf, top with a big pinch of toasted coconut, a few peanuts, a Thai basil leaf, one piece of lime, one piece of Thai chili, one or two pieces of shallots, and one or two cubes of ginger.
- Top with 1 teaspoon of the sauce and wrap everything into one neat bite. These must be eaten in a single bite to get all the flavors working properly together.
- You can use red onion if you don’t have shallots, although it won’t be as authentic.
- Use lemongrass instead of lime and palm sugar instead of brown if you can find it.
- I prefer grilled chicken that’s been marinated in classic Southeast Asian ingredients, but really, any kind of cooked chicken will do. You can use dried shrimp instead, if you like.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 225 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 327 mg |
| Sugars | 16 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Just so, so good!! I did add chopped cilantro and subbed sriracha for the peppers. Can’t wait to make these for a lettuce wrap bar at our next party. Winner!
We made these as appetizers and everyone couldn’t stop eating them. Chef John is right, a single bite is the way to enjoy them. We landed up passing on dinner and ate these instead. The sauce really brings out the flavor profile. Definitely recommend making these.
These were tasty! Made them exactly as per the recipe. Everyone loved them, but next time I’ll cut down on the lime juice used (only a little). It’s a definite keeper.
I used habenero and regular basil everything else is the same this is a great recipe for light eating.