Asian Feast (for the eyes and the stomach)

Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Asian Slaw

Last night I tried my hand at some restaurant style Asian dishes. Both dishes were inspired by two of my favorite restaurant dishes. The first, Chicken Lettuce Wraps, were inspired by PF Chang's popular wraps. It's hard to not go into a PF Chang's, and order lettuce wraps immediately, to start the meal! They are delicious, and crunchy - and feel like a cheat dish, even though they are super healthy. My recipe below, is an adaptation of Chef John's, from Food Wishes. (I'll link his video below.) The chicken comes out slightly caramelized, yet juicy and savory. I also created a "dipping" sauce to spoon over the wraps, that added a spicy bite (see bottom of blog entry)! 

The next recipe was inspired by Cooper's Hawk Winery's Asian Slaw. Whenever I visit Cooper's Hawk, I am torn on what to order because so many of their dishes are fresh and flavorful. But, I always find myself going back to that slaw! My recipe features an oil and vinegar based dressing, instead of the creamy dressing found on the restaurant version. Slightly healthier if you ask me. 

My husband and I enjoyed just these two dishes last night. But, you could easily serve this along side some rice or pork dumplings. After all, food is open to interpretation - so feel free to make adaptations to any meal, when you are trying new things!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

For The Chicken Mix

Vegetable or Light Sesame Oil (for sauteing)

1lb Ground Chicken

1 small Onion or 1/2 of a medium Onion, diced

1/2 bunch of Green Onions, sliced thin (reserve some for garnish)

1 c Water Chestnuts, diced

1 c Mushrooms, diced

1 Tbs Soy Sauce

2 tsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbs Ginger, grated

For The Sauce

1/2 c Chicken Broth

1/2 tsp Chinese Hot Mustard

2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1/4 c Rice Wine Vinegar

2 tsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbs Ketchup (Chef John swears by this ingredient! Just trust!)

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

1 tsp Chili Flakes 

4-5 Garlic Cloves, grated

1/4 c Cilantro, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

Directions

          Begin by mixing together, in a large bowl, the ingredients listed above, under the chicken mix. (Reserved the vegetable oil/ light sesame oil for sauteing the ingredients in a pan.) I used ground chicken breast in my recipe, while Chef John uses whole boneless, skinless chicken thighs in his recipe. Normally, I would agree with any chef, that using chicken thighs in best, as they tend to be fattier, and thus add more flavor to a dish. However, I made a resolution this year, that I would work hard on losing weight. (And, so far, so good!) So, I went for the ground chicken breast. And honestly, I think it worked out just fine! The texture, however, of pre-ground chicken breast tends to be a bit softer than chicken thigh, that you would mince yourself. My husband and I did not mind the texture! After the chicken mix ingredients are combined, add them to the oil in your heated pan and begin cooking. The pan should be on about medium to medium-high heat. At this point, you will cook this mixture until the chicken is almost fully cooked, and has lost a lot of its pink color. 

          While your chicken mix is cooking, you can go ahead and prepare the sauce mix, listed above. This sauce mixture is open to interpretation, as some people prefer a milder heat. My husband and I, however, like things to be a bit spicy! If you do not like lots of spice, feel free to use ground mustard powder, instead of Chinese hot mustard. And, feel free to only use a half teaspoon of red chili flakes, instead of a whole teaspoon. Just combine all of the ingredients above, but reserve the cilantro to throw in at last minute. (Fresh herbs have a tendency to turn black and become bitter, if cooked too long.)

          After most of the pink from the chicken has disappeared, add half of the sauce mix to the chicken in the pan. At this point, you will want to turn the heat up to high heat. Allow the sauce mix to reduce, so that there is no excessive liquid in the pan - and then allow the chicken to continue cooking for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (It is best to use a non stick pan.) During this time, the chicken will begin to caramelize slightly, intensifying the flavors. 

          Once the chicken is caramelized, you can add the rest of the sauce mixture and the cilantro. Cook the chicken for another minute or two. The chicken will appear slightly juicy now. At this point, you are ready to enjoy your chicken filling with lettuce wraps. I garnish my chicken mixture with more cilantro and green onions, and serve it with iceberg lettuce. I feel that iceberg is the perfect lettuce to use for these wraps. They stay crisp and crunchy, and hold up well to the juicy chicken mixture! You can also serve these wraps with the dipping sauce I have included below. (Alternatively, you could easily serve the chicken mix with either rice or Asian noodles.)

Chef John's Recipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_9eDZFBxbc

Crunchy Asian Slaw

For The Salad

1/2 a head of Cabbage, thinly shredded

1/2 a bunch of Cilantro, chopped

1 Serrano Chili, sliced very thin

1/2 a bunch of Green Onions, sliced on the bias about 1/2" thick

1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned

1/2 small bag of Julienned Carrots

1 Tbs Black Sesame Seeds 

(Uncooked Ramen Noodles or Slivered Almonds, optional for extra crunch)

For The Dressing

2 Tbs Vegetable or Canola Oil

1 & 1/2 Limes, juiced

2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

2 tsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar

1-2 glugs Fish Sauce

1 tsp Brown Sugar

1 tsp Ginger, grated

2-3 Garlic Cloves, grated

Directions

           This recipe is super simple. Begin by combining all of the salad ingredients, listed above, in a large bowl. Mix until there is a beautiful rainbow of colors. Set aside. Please note - you can leave out the serrano chili, if you'd prefer a slaw with no spice. I however, believe it adds a nice bright bite to the dish. Serranos are slightly spicier than jalapenos, but when sliced thin, are not too overwhelming!

          Next, in either a bowl, using a whisk, or in my preferred method, a mason jar with a lid, combine all of the dressing ingredients, and shake (or stir) well. Also note - if you want to leave this dish vegetarian, you do not need to add the fish sauce. I however, believe that fish sauce (while I generally hate anything seafood related), adds an awesome, kind of funky, umami flavor to the dressing. (Fish sauce is usually a key ingredient in a lot of my Thai recipes too! But, a little goes a long way!)

          Now you are ready to dress your salad. Add the dressing to the salad mix, and stir until well combined. The salad should be colorful with little black sesame specks throughout. The salad should also be lightly dressed and not soaked. Season the slaw with salt, to taste. The soy sauce and fish sauce will add some saltiness, but I personally tend to like more! (Note- the longer the salad sits with the dressing, the softer and wetter it will become. Because of this, I personally like to dress my slaw at last minute!)

Crunch Asian Slaw

Lettuce Wrap Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1 Tbs Toasted Sesame Oil

3 Tbs Soy Sauce

3 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Sweet Chili Sauce 

1.5 tsp Chinese Hot Mustard

2 tsp Honey

1 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1-2 Garlic Cloves, grated

1-2 tsp Ginger, grated

1 tsp Black Sesame Seeds

Directions

          Combine all the ingredients above in a mason jar (my preferred method), and shake until combined. Serve along side chicken lettuce wraps! This sauce is slightly spicy, slightly sour, slightly salty, and slightly sweet - hitting all the right taste buds! It is the perfect condiment for these wraps!