Asian Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps maybe one of the best food ideas ever. You get to eat with you hands, the filling is bursting with flavor and there is always that satisfying crunch of the fresh lettuce. These wraps are so simple to make. We always have lettuce wraps at every Chinese banquet I go to; those are filled with dried oysters, meat, and other vegetable. Honestly, I am not a huge oyster fan but I always am one of the first to scarf them down. Here is a more home-friendly recipe that captures the essences and flavors of this refreshing dish.

The Ingredients
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1.5 lb ground turkey
1.5 lb ground pork
1 onion, minced
1 can water chestnuts, finely diced
10 dried mushrooms, soaked and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
half a bunch of cilantro
4 stalks of green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1.5 tablespoons sugar
dash of chili flakes
salt
pepper
oil
hoisin sauce

The Method
Separate the leaves of the lettuce and lay them on a platter. Cover them with a wet cloth to keep them crisp.
Heat up a large pan on medium high heat. Pour a tablespoon of oil and saute the ground meat until cooked. Place in a large bowl.
Heat the pan again with some oil and sweat the onions for a few minutes. Throw in the garlic, ginger and mushrooms and continue cook for another few minutes. Add the water chestnuts, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili flakes and sugar. Crack some fresh black pepper.Pour the meat back in and add the green onions, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Take it off the heat and put it into a large bowl.
Take a leaf of lettuce, put a teaspoon of hoisin sauce on the bottom, lay on a couple spoonfuls of the filling and enjoy. This recipe will serve about 5-6 as a full meal or 8-10 as an appetizer.

Cantonese Chicken Claypot (without the claypot)

So I decided to ditch the claypot, mainly because I didn't have one, and chose to make it in a rice cooker instead. The results are about the same; although with the claypot, you can get a crunchy layer of rice at the bottom. But what college student has a chinese claypot on hand? Not this one. This Chinese dish takes many flavors and combines them to create a very homely dish.
The Ingredients
3 cups of rice (I used medium grain, but adjust water for long grain)
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
3 stalks green onion, chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
10-12 dried shitake mushrooms
3 chinese sausages (lop cheung), sliced
.25 cup cilantro, chopped
cooking oil
for the chicken:
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
.5 teaspoon sesame oil
.5 teaspoon sugar
.25 teaspoon pepper
for the rice:
4 cups of water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
pinch of salt

The Method
Chop the chicken into large chunks and mix it with the chicken seasoning. Let this marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight. Soak the dried mushrooms in water for at least half an hour until soft. Cut them in half. Slice the sausages, and chop the green onions, cilantro and the ginger.Mix the water and rice seasonings in the rice cooker. Press the cook button.
Put a large pan on medium high heat and pour some vegetable oil to prevent sticking. When the pan is hot, place the chicken and mushrooms in a single layer. Brown the chicken and make several batches if you need too. Throw in the ginger and chinese sausages. Take the chicken out when it is about half cooked and place in a large bowl. When the rice has about 7-8 minutes left and is dry, add the chicken, mushrooms and sausages. Close the rice cooker and let it cook. When the button pops up or beeps sprinkle the green onions and cilantro on top, and set a timer for 12-15 more minutes. This will continue to cook the chicken and let the flavors mix. Serve with additional cilantro and green onion. This recipe feeds 4-6.