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Summer Lettuce Wraps with Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp

These summer lettuce wraps stuffed with grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp are packed with flavor and are sure to please a crowd.
The hidden beauty of these wraps lies in the accompaniments:
If you are serving a large group that wants to garnish their own dishes, include an offering of individual serving bowls containing fish sauce, the fresh herbs, lime wedges, toasted peanuts, dressed shredded baby lettuce, cooked onions & jalapenos, and fresh bean sprouts!

Ingredients

For the Lettuce Wrap Sauce:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp oyster sauce

For the Lettuce Wrap Components:

  • 3-4 heads baby lettuce, with the stems cut off and the larger outer leaves carefully removed and washed for use as the 16-20 individual lettuce wraps. *Note, these larger lettuce leaves can be dried on paper towels and stored in the refrigerator prior to assembly
  • The insides of the baby lettuce (the parts that were too small to use as wrappers), can be washed and drained and dried on paper towels and refrigerated *Note, the inside sections of the baby lettuce will be finely sliced and mixed later with the lettuce wrap sauce
  • 8 strips of thick-cut bacon
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 24 shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 1 clove garlic, very finely minced or grated on a Microplane
  • 1 tsp raw ginger, very finely minced or grated on a Microplane
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 6 skewers, roughly 8-10” long, submerged in cold water for 2 hours
  • 1 onion, red or white, cut into 1/8” slices
  • 1 jalapeno, cut into 1/8” strips
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, for frying onion and jalapeno
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 3 scallions, tougher green ends removed, remainder finely sliced, for garnish
  • ¾ cup fresh cilantro leaves, leaves picked from their stems, for garnish
  • ½ cup fresh mint leaves, gently sliced, for garnish
  • ½ cup peanuts, toasted, salted, and chopped, for garnish
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish
  • A few drops of fish sauce on each lettuce wrap, to finish
  • 2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained, as garnish

Instructions

  • Soak the wooden skewers in cold water for an hour before grilling. Submerge skewers with a plate to ensure they are under water.
  • For the lettuce wrap sauce, combine all the ingredients and mix to combine thoroughly.
  • For the lettuce wrap components, begin by preparing the lettuce leaves as described in the ingredients section.
  • Store all cleaned lettuce leaves dried in the fridge in paper towels.
  • Cook the bacon strips until they are 60% cooked in 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil until they are partially cooked and some of their fat is rendered.
  • Remove bacon and allow to drain on paper towels.
  • Pour remaining bacon fat into a bowl and combine with the remaining 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, plus the shrimp, soy sauce, lime zest, juice of ½ of a lime, the minced garlic, minced ginger, and 2 tsp smoked paprika and stir to combine.
  • Allow shrimp to marinate in this mixture in the fridge for roughly 30 minutes.
  • Cook onion and jalapeno in vegetable oil on high heat, until the onions become golden brown.
  • Turn off heat and add the soy sauce, red pepper flakes, rice wine vinegar, and dried oregano and stir to combine.
  • Finely slice your small internal lettuce leaves that were too small to be used as wrappers. This shredded lettuce will be mixed with sauce just prior to the lettuce wrap assembly at the end.
  • Prepare all your remaining garnishes for lettuce wrap assembly.
  • Heat grill to high heat, roughly 500F or higher.
  • Wrap the shrimp carefully with the partially cooked bacon, using roughly 1/3 of a bacon strip per shrimp.
  • Secure bacon-wrapped shrimps by attaching them to the wooden skewers.
  • Grill bacon-wrapped shrimp on high heat.
  • When the shrimp are ready, assemble your lettuce wraps.
  • Begin by placing some sauce on the inside of a piece of lettuce.
  • Add sliced scallions, finely shredded lettuce mixed with more sauce, bacon-wrapped shrimp, fresh cilantro, fresh mint, toasted peanuts, lime juice, fish sauce, and bean sprouts.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

The wraps and most of their respective components are best prepared and served on the same day. That being said, you can prepare the sauce in advance to save some time.