Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

Try this easy Asian-inspired take on lettuce wraps with grilled beef, crisp vegetables, and fresh herbs. The spicy marinade of sriracha, ginger, lime, and fish sauce doubles as a dipping sauce!

By
Sally Vargas
Sally Vargas
Sally Vargas

Sally is the author of four cookbooks and is a regular correspondent for the Boston Globe Wednesday Food Section. She also is a food photographer.

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Updated June 18, 2022
Sally Vargas
Asian steak lettuce wraps with sliced steak, cucumber, peanuts, radish and a dipping sauce.
Sally Vargas

Thinly sliced grilled steak enclosed in soft lettuce leaves with crunchy peanuts and radishes, zesty mint and cilantro, cucumbers, scallions, and rice noodles is a dream dinner for a warm night.

Set out a platter with all the ingredients, and let everyone build his or her own wrap. Pass the spicy dipping sauce, which you cleverly made in advance to marinate the steak.

What Is the Best Lettuce for Wraps?

Choose soft lettuce leaves from a head of red or green leaf lettuce or butterhead lettuce such as Boston or Bibb lettuce.

Break larger leaves into hand-size pieces, or use smaller whole leaves for your wrap. You are looking for leaves that are flexible and can be held in your hand, folded or rolled.

Steak lettuce wrap with peanuts, dipping sauce and sliced vegetables on a plate with a striped linen.
Sally Vargas

The Best Steak for Lettuce Wraps

We’re using flank steak in this recipe, but you could also use skirt, flatiron, or hanger steak. Because flank steak is lean, it has the potential to be tough, so be sure to cut it across the grain into very thin slices.

Steak Wrap Time Saver

You get a two-fer on this one! The steak marinade can also double as the dipping sauce.

  1. Make the marinade.
  2. Use about 1/3 cup of the marinade to flavor the steak.
  3. Set the remaining marinade aside to use later as a dipping sauce for the wraps.

The marinade bursting with salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Taste the reserved dipping sauce, and if it’s too strong for you to use as a dip, feel free to dilute it with one to two tablespoons water.

Two plates of low carb steak wraps. Sliced steak, leaf lettuce, sliced radish, sliced cucumber, rice noodles and peanuts fill the plate.
Sally Vargas

How to Grill Steak for Lettuce Wraps

For a grill heated to 450°F or a hot charcoal grill, an average flank steak will take from three to five minutes on each side for medium rare. This said:

  • Grilling time will vary depending on the thickness of the steak and the heat of your particular grill.
  • Flank steak tends to be thicker at one end and thinner at another, which could result in one end being rare while the other is medium rare. Sometimes, that works well to accommodate the different tastes in a single family.
  • If you would prefer to cook the whole steak the same degree of doneness, it’s best to set up a warm and hot side of the grill. Place the thickest part of the steak over the hot side and the thinner part over the warm side.

For best results, use an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the steak:

  • Rare: 125°F
  • Medium Rare: 135°F
  • Medium: 145°F
Low carb lettuce wrap with sliced steak, mint, radish, cucumber and peanuts wrapped up on a plate. A dipping sauce is on the plate as well.
Sally Vargas

More Great Lettuce Wrap Recipes!

Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

For the marinade/dipping sauce:

  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

  • 3 tablespoons lime juice

  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce

  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha or other hot sauce (or to taste)

  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled ginger root

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

  • 2 scallions, finely sliced

  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak

For the wraps:

  • 6 ounces rice noodles (any kind)

  • Leaves from 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce

  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 4 radishes, thinly sliced

  • 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts

  • Handful of fresh cilantro leaves

  • Handful of fresh mint leaves

Method

  1. Make the marinade/dipping sauce:

    In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and scallions. You will use some of it for the marinade and some for the dipping sauce.

  2. Marinate the steak:

    Place the steak in a shallow dish. Pour 1/3 cup of the marinade over the steak and set the remaining marinade aside to use later as the dipping sauce.

    Turn the steak to coat it in the marinade. Let the steak marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning the steak once or twice, or cover it and let the steak marinate for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

    If you refrigerate the meat, let it come to room temperature before grilling.

    Steak marinating for low carb lettuce wraps.
    Sally Vargas
  3. Cook the rice noodles:

    Follow the cooking directions on the package of noodles. (Individual manufacturers’ instructions vary.) Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water, tossing with your hands, to remove the excess starch and prevent the noodles from sticking together.

    Cooked rice noodles draining in a strainer for Asian Steak Lettuce Wraps.
    Sally Vargas
  4. Grill the steak:

    Light a charcoal grill or turn a gas grill to high (about 450oF). Grill the steak for 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare (135oF). The exact timing will depend upon the heat of the individual grill and the thickness of your steak.

    For best results, use an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the steak: 125°F for rare, 135°F for medium rare, 145°F for medium.

  5. Rest and slice the steak:

    Transfer the steak to a cutting board, cover with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Thinly slice it across the grain.

    Grilled steak sliced on a cutting board for low carb steak wraps.
    Sally Vargas
  6. Arrange the ingredients on a platter:

    Tear the lettuce leaves into large pieces, removing the stiff stem ends.

    Arrange the lettuce leaves, scallions, radish, cucumbers, peanuts, mint, and cilantro on a large platter around the sliced steak, rice noodles, and dipping sauce. This allows each person to build his or her own wrap.

    A platter with rice noodles, leaf lettuce, sliced cucumber, sliced radish, peanuts and sliced steak. Dipping sauce and sliced scallions are to the left.
    Sally Vargas
  7. Make the wraps:

    Set a lettuce leaf on a plate. Place some rice noodles and steak slices over the leaf, and top with scallions, cilantro, mint, radishes, cucumbers, and peanuts. Roll or fold and serve with dipping sauce.

    Leafy lettuce with sliced steak and rice noodles in the center for low carb steak wraps.
    Sally Vargas
    Leafy lettuce with sliced radish, sliced cucumber, peanuts and sliced steak in the center for a low carb lettuce wrap.
    Sally Vargas
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
397 Calories
17g Fat
24g Carbs
39g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 397
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 21%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 90mg 30%
Sodium 1113mg 48%
Total Carbohydrate 24g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 39g
Vitamin C 14mg 70%
Calcium 110mg 8%
Iron 5mg 27%
Potassium 914mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.