Vegetarian Shitake Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

I make lettuce wraps on a regular basis. One, I love how easy it is to make it. Two, it tastes absolutely delicious. Lastly, you can make it ahead of time and eat over the next few days (if it lasts that long).

Normally, I make lettuce wraps with ground beef. But for Chinese New Year, I decided that I wanted vegetarian lettuce wraps and used dried shitake mushrooms instead. Wow, I did not expect it to be that good. I am a carnivore at heart but these shitake Mushroom Lettuce Wraps have won me over. As I was stuffing my face with this lettuce wrap, the only thought that ran across my mind was "Yum, I should have made more."

Ingredients
6 whole lettuce leaves (iceberg or butter lettuce)
12 large dried shitake mushrooms
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, small dice
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 medium green onion, sliced
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained, small dice
2 tsp sesame oil

Serve With:
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha hot sauce

Directions
1. In a large bowl, soak shitake mushrooms with enough hot water to cover for at least an hour.

2. Wash the mushrooms under running water until it is clean. Dice dried mushrooms into small pieces and set aside.

3. Wash lettuce leaves and pat dry. Try to keep them whole and not tear them. Set aside.

4. Pour oil to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add diced onions and cook until the onions are translucent.

5. Add the shitake mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Stir in hoisin sauce, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar into the skillet until it is well mixed.

8. Add water chestnuts and sesame oil. Cook until the sauce is thickened.

9. Serve with lettuce leaves. Drizzle hoisin sauce and/or Sriracha sauce over the mushroom mixture.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes