By The first week of waiting. Dr. Yoon warned me it would be strange, and she was right — it's like the day after a final exam, that hollow ringing feeling where your body hasn't caught up with the fact that the thing you were bracing for is done. I check my email seventeen times a day. The database said four to six months. It has been five days. I am aware that this is irrational. I check anyway.
Valentine's Day was Sunday — technically last week but we celebrated Monday because James had a product launch meeting on the actual day that ran until eight PM, which is the most Microsoft thing that has ever happened. He brought home grocery store roses and a card that said, "Thanks for choosing me back," which is a reference to something I said on our first date about adoption and choosing and belonging, and the fact that he remembered made me cry over a $4 Safeway card. We ordered Thai food because neither of us wanted to cook and sometimes the most romantic thing is admitting you're tired.
But Tuesday I was back in the kitchen, because the kitchen is where I regulate. I made kongnamul-guk — soybean sprout soup, the simplest Korean soup there is, just sprouts and water and garlic and salt and a little sesame oil at the end. My Korean cooking teacher at UW extension called it "the soup you make when you have nothing and need everything." That felt right. The broth is almost clear, barely there, but the flavor is deep and clean and warming in a way that fancier soups aren't. I ate it for lunch three days in a row. James said, "Are you okay?" I said, "I'm eating soup." He said, "That's not an answer." He's right. It wasn't.
Korean 201 homework is keeping me sane — verb conjugations, particle markers, a short essay about my family that I wrote and rewrote until Minjae said it was good. I wrote about James and Hana the golden retriever who died when I was twelve and David's grilled salmon and Karen's apple pie. I did not write about the DNA kit traveling across the Pacific or the woman it's looking for. Some things you hold in one language until you're ready to hold them in two.
Friday night James and I walked to a new ramen place in Capitol Hill. The air was February-cold, sharp, the kind of cold that makes you walk faster and hold hands tighter. We split a tonkotsu and a spicy miso and talked about his product launch and my sprint planning and nothing about the search, because sometimes you need a night that's just a night — noodles and cold air and the person you love and the future sitting quietly in a mailbox somewhere, waiting to be opened.
Between the soup-for-lunch-three-days-in-a-row weeks and the ramen-in-the-cold-air Friday nights, there’s a middle ground — something I can pull together fast on a Tuesday, something with ginger and sesame and the satisfying crunch of a cold lettuce leaf, something that feels a little festive without requiring me to have it together. These Asian turkey lettuce wraps have become that for us: quick enough for a weeknight when the wait feels heavy, bright enough to make dinner feel like a choice instead of just a reflex. James loves them, which helps.
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (optional, to taste)
- 1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 head butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
- Shredded carrots, for topping (optional)
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the turkey. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and cook, breaking it apart, until no longer pink, about 7–8 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.
- Add aromatics. Push the turkey to the side and add garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook 30–60 seconds until fragrant, then stir into the turkey.
- Build the sauce. Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and chili garlic sauce if using. Stir to coat the turkey evenly and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add the crunch. Stir in the water chestnuts and half the green onions. Cook 1–2 more minutes until everything is heated through and the sauce has slightly thickened.
- Assemble the wraps. Spoon the turkey mixture into individual lettuce leaves. Top with shredded carrots, remaining green onions, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 245 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg