Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps
Updated Feb 27, 2022, Published Mar 05, 2017
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Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps with Mint Dressing and Vegetable Slaw is full of fresh, crunchy vegetables and lively herbs! It’s the perfect meal to make when the mint hits the fan! Don’t miss my Thai Basil Beef for another delicious Thai dinner!
Mid-to-late spring is when my perennial herbs are at their best. We’re having an early spring here and mint is already popping its wonderful, flavorful little head out of the ground. When it gets going, there’s no stopping it. Mint is one of those things you plant only if you really mean it because it spreads like crazy!
We could always take up drinking mint juleps and mojitos. However, there are only so many of those a person can consume. (Hic.)
Along with cilantro and basil, mint is used frequently in Thai cuisine. In these Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps with Mint Dressing and Vegetable Slaw, I used mint in the dressing and in the vegetable slaw for a healthful, fresh and light dinner for two. Feel free to use cilantro or basil instead if that’s what you prefer.
We love these Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps with Mint Dressing and Vegetable Slaw that enables us to use some of that bounty.
Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef for things like lettuce wraps, tacos and fajitas. Skirt steak takes very well to marinades because it’s thin. Other cuts such as flank steak may be used. However, skirt steak is thinner than a flank steak so it cooks faster and it’s easier to bite into in something like a wrap, taco or fajita.
Tips for making Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps:
- Let the beef marinate at room temperature while preparing the dressing and vegetable slaw. There’s no food safety danger for that short amount of time and the marinade is fairly acidic.
- Always let meat rest for several minutes before slicing for the juices to redistribute. Skirt steak should always be sliced against the grain.
Be sure to try these other fresh and crunchy wrap recipes!
- Vietnamese Beef Lettuce Wraps with Rice Noodles and Cucumber Relish
- Turkish Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Tzatziki
- Vegan Korean Tofu Lettuce Wraps with Tahini Gochujang Sauce and Spicy Slaw
Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Marinade and Beef
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons green curry paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces beef skirt steak
Dressing
- ½ cup mint leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ cup lime juice, or to taste
- 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded if desired, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
Slaw
- 1 package (12-ounce) broccoli slaw
- 1 bunch scallions, white and light green part only, chopped
- ¼ cup mint leaves, loosely packed, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or vegetable oil
For Serving
- Dry-roasted peanuts
- Boston lettuce leaves
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Marinade and Beef
- Combine marinade ingredients in a zipper-top bag. Add the beef and marinate at room temperature while preparing the dressing and slaw.
- Preheat a grill to medium-high. Remove skirt steak from marinade and discard marinade. Place the skirt steak on the grill, reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes per side or until medium doneness. Transfer beef to a plate, tent with aluminum foil and let rest 5 minutes.
- Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Serve in lettuce leaves, topped with slaw, dressing and peanuts. Serve lime wedges on the side.
Dressing
- Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Set aside.
Slaw
- Combine slaw ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Notes
- Ask your butcher for the OUTSIDE skirt. The outside skirt has more marbling, making it more tender and expensive than the inside skirt.
- Let the beef marinate at room temperature while preparing the dressing and vegetable slaw. There’s no food safety danger for that short amount of time and the marinade is fairly acidic.
- Always let meat rest for several minutes before slicing for the juices to redistribute. Skirt steak should always be sliced against the grain.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
My family really enjoyed this dish. All the flavors were on point. The layers of flavors were perfectly balanced. My only couple of issues were that the skirt steak was extremely chewy and as lettuce wraps, it was difficult and messy to eat.
We followed your instructions to remove the silver skin and only marinate for an hour. My husband grilled the meat to medium rare. Unfortunately, all of us were chewing and chewing and chewing.
I will make this again and try it with flatiron steak. It has a similar flavor, but is always extremely tender. Also, we ended up making bowls out of the wraps. We shredded the lettuce, added stir fried rice, red peppers and cucumber to the rest of the ingredients. Despite the toughness of the skirt steak, the entire dish was fantastic.
Hi, Nilha, Thanks so much and happy you enjoyed this dish… overall. Did you slice it thinly across the grain? Sorry that happened, but I love your solution to turn it into bowls! That did actually happen to me and my husband one time with a skirt steak. My husband looked at me like… what is this? I don’t recall it being tough when I did this recipe so hard to say. I did a lot of skirt steak fajitas for personal chef clients over the years with no complaints. Thanks again and appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment and rate.
OH NO! Nothing is worse than water issues… (been there, done that!). Hope it gets resolved quickly…. this is one of those recipes I just love. Healthy meals…. but it still has amazing flavors. Pinned it to make soon!
I used to also watch the soaps, awesome! yuck on the flood. Now the recipe, love it! The flavors are awesome and love the mint addition.
I hadn’t realized that mint was common in Thai cooking – I’ll have to look at that! (And yours is so beautiful…) This looks like a great place to start!
And good luck with the move back… Hope you get everything back to normal, soon.
Thanks, Anne! We’re getting there…slowly but surely. At least I’ve been able to get some new things for the house. 🙂
These sounds really delicious! And your photography is always so beautiful!<3
Thanks, Veronika!