September 28, 2009

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This is one of our favorite appetizers from Chinese and Thai restaurants but I'd never tried it at home for some reason. Now I will admit that the first recipe I found on the internet was one of the most convoluted, complicated processes I'd ever seen, and it could have scared off anyone - but that didn't deter me for long since we were craving these! As usual, I researched all the versions and put them together to suit us. This is very versatile and therefore great for using what's in your fridge.

For serving:
bib lettuce, or another soft lettuce, washed and leaves separated
sliced green onions
thin, crispy rice noodles

For filling:
1/2 C celery
1/2 C onion
1/2 C green and hot peppers - combination depends on how much heat you like
1-2 Tbs. peanut oil
Saute the vegetables in the oil in a large pan until they have started to soften.

1 lb. chicken breast meat, chopped or ground
small eggplant, peeled and chopped (optional, but gave a nice texture)
one can of water chestnuts, chopped
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Add the chicken, eggplant, water chestnuts, and ginger to the vegetables, and drizzle the sesame oil over all. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

1/4 - 1/2 C sesame/ginger salad dressing
1-2 Tbs. soy sauce
1-2 tsp. cornstarch
To finish the filling, add the dressing to the pan, then dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and add that to the pan as well. Stir well and cook until the filling is thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Fill the lettuce pieces with the filling and top with the onions and noodles. Fold the lettuce over the filling, a little like a burrito or a taco shell. We had these with steamed dumplings and called it a meal - a delicious meal!
These recipes will hopefully give you some ideas about how to use produce from your garden or farmer's market. There are also other recipes that are simply here because they are our favorites, or someone made a request at the last church lunch! I'd like to encourage you to alter these recipes to suit your own tastes, your family's needs, and to use what you have on hand. Therefore, some of my recipes will not have exact measurements. So...if any of the recipes leaves you scratching your head, just send me an email and I'll try to answer your question. HappyGrowing@eatingfromthegarden.com