Thai Lettuce Wraps with Crispy Fish and Peanut Sauce

Thai Lettuce Wraps are a fabulous way to start off your January! Supple butter lettuce wrapped around crispy baked fish, topped with a gingery homemade Asian slaw. Drizzle with sweet and spicy Thai Peanut Sauce and you have an easy and healthy Asian-inspired weeknight dinner!

This post is sponsored by Gorton’s Seafood, but all opinions are my own of course! Thanks for supporting the amazing brands that keep The Food Charlatan chugging along. 

We had the CRAZIEST winter storm the other night here in Sacramento. I thought our giant sycamore was going to crash into our house! The power went out for about 7,000 households, and some didn’t get it back for 24 hours.

We were lucky enough to have the power on within 20 minutes or so. Long enough to light all the candles and imagine what it would be like if we really had to go by candle light after dark, darning socks and churning butter or whatever. We are so dang spoiled, you guys.

The kids were very excited to do our bedtime stories by candle light, but the lights flipped on during family prayer. So we shut off all the lights and pretended instead. There’s just something a little magical about candle light, right?

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Here’s why you’re going to love these Thai lettuce wraps:

• It’s January and you’re eating FISH. That was one of your goals for 2019, right?? (Incorporating more fish in my diet always seems to be on my to-do list…)
• You get to eat something with the word “slaw” in it. I don’t know why that word always makes me giggle. (I think I just figured it out. It’s because of Sloth from Goonies. “Sloth love Chunk!” Sloth loves slaw too, no doubt.
• You get to wrap your meal in butter lettuce, which is almost as good as butter, but with the benefit of not making you feel like the slug that you were all through December. I know you.

What is Thai Peanut Sauce

I told my kids I was making them peanut butter sauce, and Charlotte said, mom, this does NOT taste like peanut butter. I think she was expecting a liquified peanut butter sandwich? But I swear, this Thai Peanut Sauce could not be further in it’s flavor profile from a PB&J. It’s a combination of peanut butter, coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and lime.

If you haven’t tried it, it might sound weird, but trust me, it is more savory than sweet and 100% delicious, especially when paired with crispy fish. I love me some slaw and butter lettuce but I still couldn’t stop myself from eating a few solo fish sticks dunked deep into this Thai Peanut Sauce.

Here’s a refresher on how to shred cabbage. You can slice it even thinner than this, if you want. I love angel hair cabbage that is super thin! I’ll tell you the best secret about today’s recipe: you can totally cheat. Buy a couple bags of pre-chopped angel hair cabbage and add it to the slaw dressing as listed in the recipe.

You can also pick up a jar of pre-made Thai peanut sauce at the store if you are in a pinch. Squeeze your Thai lettuce wraps with lime juice if you buy pre made stuff, it will brighten up the flavor. Homemade is always better, but some days there is just no time!

I’m so excited to be partnering with Gorton’s seafood on this post! I can’t look at their bright yellow packaging without smiling. Have you tried their new Alaska Pollack fish sticks? They are made with whole pieces of fish, not minced up fish, and you can absolutely tell the difference. It’s kind of like the difference between eating homemade fried chicken and McDonald’s chicken nuggets ;) I love using Gorton’s fish as the starting point for so many different meals, and my kids love them. Can’t beat that!

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One year ago: Skinny Texas Cowboy Cookies
Three years ago: Asian Cauliflower “Rice” << this would go great with today’s Thai Lettuce Wraps!
Five years ago: Lemon Cupcakes < these are so good.

Thai Lettuce Wraps with Crispy Fish and Peanut Sauce

5 from 3 votes

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Thai Lettuce Wraps are a fabulous way to start off your January! Supple butter lettuce wrapped around crunchy baked fish, topped with a gingery homemade Asian slaw. Drizzle with sweet and spicy Thai Peanut Sauce and you have an easy and healthy Asian-inspired weeknight dinner!

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 (19-oz) package Gorton's 100% Whole Fillet Fish Sticks
• ▢ 2 heads butter lettuce

For the Asian slaw

• ▢ 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• ▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ▢ 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup sesame oil
• ▢ 3 cups purple cabbage, shredded
• ▢ 3 cups green cabbage, shredded
• ▢ 3 cups shredded carrots, 3-4 large carrots
• ▢ 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

For the Thai Peanut Sauce

• ▢ 2/3 cup peanut butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup coconut milk from a can
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup lime juice, about 2 limes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

Bake the fish sticks:

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray (line with foil first for easy cleanup).
• Line up Gorton's 100% Whole Fillet Fish Sticks on the pan; there are 20 in a package. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to flip each fish stick over. Return to the oven and bake at 450 for another 5-8 minutes, until the fish sticks are crispy and golden. Remove and turn off the oven. Return to the oven to keep warm once the temperature inside has gone down a bit.

Asian Slaw:

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 3 tablespoons minced ginger. While you whisk, slowly pour in 1/4 cup sesame oil. You must be whisking or the oil and vinegar will not emulsify.
• Add 3 cups each shredded purple cabbage, green cabbage, and carrots. (See photos for a cabbage shredding refresher). Add the green onions and cilantro and stir it together to coat the slaw with the dressing.
• Set aside for at least 15 minutes to let it marinate.

Thai Peanut Sauce:

• While the slaw is marinating, make the peanut sauce. In a blender or food processor, add 2/3 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup coconut milk*, 2 tablespoons ginger (you can just chop off a knob that looks like it will be about 2 tablespoons), 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• Blend it all together until smooth and creamy. Taste it and adjust the seasonings to taste. You can add more salt, red pepper flakes, or lime to juice to brighten it up even more if you like.

Assemble:

• Separate the butter lettuce leaves and wash thoroughly, letting them dry on a paper towel.
• Place 2 fish sticks on 2 butter lettuce leaves. Drizzle with Thai Peanut Sauce. Top with Asian slaw. Devour animal style.

Notes

If you use two fish sticks per lettuce wrap, you will get about 10 lettuce wraps total. Two wraps was enough to fill me up for one meal. The slaw amount is generous and you may have some leftover. Eat it up with some grilled chicken, or repurpose it for Asian tacos.

*Coconut milk in a can is usually separated when you open it: there is a thick white creamy part, and a thin watery liquid. Stir it together a bit to form a creamier liquid. You don't need to get all the lumps out, and adding lumps straight into your blender is fine. Use the leftover coconut milk to make this One Pot Vegetable Curry. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 726kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 1276mg | Potassium: 1634mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 19770IU | Vitamin C: 74mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 5mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Eastern European

Calories: 726

Keyword: crispy, easy dinner, Fish, lettuce wraps, lunch, peanut sauce, thai

Did you make this? I'd love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!

More easy fish stick recipe ideas!

Beer-Battered-Fish Burrito Bowl with Orange Avocado Salsa << so much flavor!

Easy Fishstick Tacos << bad photo, fabulous recipe. Super easy weeknight meal.

Crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad with Crispy Fish << I love love LOVE this salad! So crunchy!

More lettuce wraps from other great bloggers!

Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lettuce Wraps from Rachel Cooks
Grilled Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps from Honey and Birch
Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Foodie with Family
Ginger Lemongrass Pork Lettuce Wraps from Snixy Kitchen