This month we had another birthday celebration at Vrghr's shop, so wuff created another luncheon for his co-workers in celebration. With the Summer weather, wuff decided to go with something a little lighter, less gravy and carbs, more vibrant flavors. Vrghr was also hungry for Asian-inspired cuisines, so wuff went with a trio of Lettuce Wraps with Asian-influenced flavor.

All 3 recipes are listed below!

We have:
Chicken Lettuce Wraps inspired by those found in PF Chang's restaurant
Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wraps, somewhat similar to the Mongolian Beef from Panda Express
Orange-Teriyaki Pork Lettuce Wraps. These have a flavor a bit similar to Panda Express's orange chicken sauce

Because Vrghr was cooking at work, wuff set these recipes up to make the sauces for the 3 proteins in advance. This dramatically simplifies the prep at cooking time, and reduces the time needed. You can feel free to make the sauces early, or wait until you're ready to cook things up.

You can also easily substitute the proteins used. For example, diced boneless/skinless chicken thighs would work as well as the ground chicken wuff used.

Finally, feel free to experiment and tailor heat and other elements to your specific taste. Wuff intentionally keep the spicy heat levels low in these, even though all three of these are usually prepared with a noticeable "kick". Some of Vrghr's co-workers can't deal well with spice, and others don't appreciate the burn, so wuff tamps things down a bit when creating these 'shop' versions. But that doesn't mean you need to.

These do have some heat to them, but it's pretty subtle. However, if you like to refrigerate and reheat, note that the temperature climbs with a session in the 'fridge. So if it's "just right" on day 1, you might find it a little over the top on the next day.

As always, wuff is happy to chat about ideas or suggestions, or to offer tips and techniques to help new cooks along. Feel free to ask in the comments below!

NOTE: Wuff also offered steamed rice with these, and several folks put the sauced meats on the rice instead of in the lettuce wraps. This is also a VERY tasty way to enjoy these items!

NOTE 2: The hot proteins will cause the lettuce to wilt fairly quickly when applied. These are much tastier when the lettuce is crisp, so don't load up the servings too early. Probably best to put the goodies out, buffet style, and let guests make up their own servings right when they're ready to eat.

Bon Appetite!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground chicken (I’ve also used ground turkey with good results)
1 medium/large sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, diced small
1 sm pkg (6 oz) shredded Brocolli, Carrot & Cabbage slaw mix
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 TBS (4 cloves garlic, grated or pressed) Garlic Paste
1 TBS freshly grated Ginger or Ginger Paste

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
(Optional for extra ‘kick’) 2-3 tsp Sriracha Sauce

For the Sauce:
3 TBS Soy Sauce
1/2 C Hoisin Sauce
1 TBS Asian Chili Garlic sauce, or to taste (Sriracha may be substituted)
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garlic powder

Lettuce leaves, for serving (Butter, hearts of Romain, red leaf, or Boston all work)

For Garnish/Topping
2 to 3 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
8-ounce can water chestnut, drained and diced small
Bean or Pea Sprouts
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Directions:
Make the sauce:
In a bowl or small container, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until thoroughly combined. Can be made the day before. Cover and refrigerate until ready for use

Make the Chicken:
In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the Olive and Sesame oils and ground chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through; stirring frequently to make crumbly
Add the onion and the shredded broccoli slaw, and cook for a minute or two until the onion starts to become fragrant and the carrots slightly tender. Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir in, cooking for another minute.
Add the prepared sauce and stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken has thoroughly incorporated the sauce and absorbed the flavors.
Taste filling and make any necessary flavor adjustments, i.e. more soy sauce, hoisin, pepper, etc.

To Plate:
Put filling into serving bowl and allow to cool slightly so it doesn’t quickly wilt the lettuce from the heat.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the lettuce leaves to serve. Serve quickly, as the heat of the filling will wilt the lettuce and it tastes better when the lettuce is crisp.
Top with desired garnishes

!DEVOUR!
Recipe is best warm and fresh but filling will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days


Mongolian Beef
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs Flank, Top or Bottom Round Steak, sliced with the grain in 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick bite-sized pieces*
2/3 cup dark Soy Sauce
(Optional Sriracha to Taste)

1 lb Shitake mushrooms (Crimini or other mushrooms will work) finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 TBS (4 cloves garlic, grated or pressed) Garlic Paste
2 tsp freshly grated Ginger or Ginger Paste

2-3 TBS cornstarch
2-3 TBS cool water

For the Sauce:
2 TBS Hoisin Sauce
2 TBS Asian Garlic Chili Sauce
1/3-1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 C Mirin
1/3 C Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce
1 TBS Fish Sauce

For Garnish
Green onions sliced into thin rounds
Toasted Sesame seeds

Directions:
Make the sauce:
In a microwave-safe container, add all the sauce ingredients and whisk briefly to combine. Microwave at high power for 30-45 seconds, until quite warm but not boiling. It helps to dissolve the sugar. Whisk again until all the sugars are completely dissolved and incorporated
Sauce can be made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated until ready for use.

Marinate the Beef:
Slice the beef into 1/4 inch wide strips WITH the grain, then cut across the strips into 1/4 inch dice
Add the diced beef to a large ziptop bag. Add the dark Soy Sauce, seal, and k need to coat every bit. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Make the Beef:
Clean the mushrooms and cut away the woody stems. Chop the heads into small dice
In a large skillet over high heat add the Olive oil and Sesame oils and allow to heat until shimmering and fragrant. Add the diced Mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until they are more tender and releasing a bit of their juices.
Add the Ginger and Garlic paste and stir to combine, cooking briefly to bloom the flavors (about a minute)
Pour the marinated beef along with all the Soy marinade into the skillet with the mushrooms. Stir and cook until the beef is seared on most sides, but not cooked all the way through (it will cook more in the sauce to come)
Add the prepared sauce. Reduce heat to medium and stir until sauce comes to a good simmer/light boil. Stir occasionally to keep the beef from sticking
While beef is simmering and absorbing flavors, whisk the cornstarch and cool water into a slurry.

Taste the beef and adjust flavors as desired i.e. more soy sauce, garlic chili sauce, pepper, salt, etc. If extra heat is desired, add the optional Sriracha, but note that the heat will increase if this is stored overnight.
Drizzle in the cornstarch slurry and stir in. Allow sauce to return to a good simmer in order to thicken

To Plate:
Put filling into serving bowl and allow to cool slightly so it doesn’t quickly wilt the lettuce from the heat.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the lettuce leaves to serve. Serve quickly, as the heat of the filling will wilt the lettuce and it tastes better when the lettuce is crisp.
Top with desired garnishes

!DEVOUR!
Recipe is best warm and fresh but filling will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days


Orange Teriyaki Pork
Ingredients:
1.5 lb lean Pork (loin chops, etc)
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 large Shallot, finely diced
2 tsp (2cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed) Garlic Paste
1 tsp freshly grated Ginger or Ginger Paste

2-3 TBS cornstarch
2-3 TBS cool water

For the Sauce:
1/4 C Soy Sauce
2 TBS Asian Garlic Chili Sauce
2-3 TBS Teriyaki sauce
1/2 C Rice Vinegar
1/3-1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Juice (fresh) from 1 medium Orange (~1/2 cup)
Zest from 1 medium Orange
1 TBS Orange Marmalade
2 tsp ground Ginger powder
1 tsp Sesame Oil

Directions:
Make the sauce:
In a microwave-safe container, add all the sauce ingredients and whisk briefly to combine. Microwave at high power for 30-45 seconds, until quite warm but not boiling. It helps to dissolve the sugar and marmalade, and the heat will pull extra flavor out of the orange zest. Whisk again until all the sugar and marmalade are completely dissolved and incorporated
Sauce can be made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated until ready for use

Make the Pork:
Slice the pork into 1/4 inch wide strips then cut across the strips into 1/4 inch dice
In a large skillet over high heat add the Olive oil and Sesame oils and allow to heat until shimmering and fragrant. Add the diced Pork and cook for 2-3 minutes until seared on most sides but not cooked through (will cook more in the sauce to come)
Add the Shallots, Ginger and Garlic paste and stir to combine, cooking briefly to bloom the flavors (about a minute)
Add the prepared orange sauce. Reduce heat to medium and stir until sauce comes to a good simmer/light boil. Stir occasionally to keep the Pork from sticking
While pork is simmering and absorbing flavors, whisk the cornstarch and cool water into a slurry

Taste the pork and adjust flavors as desired i.e. more soy sauce, orange juice or marmalade, pepper, salt, etc
Drizzle in the cornstarch slurry and stir in. Allow sauce to return to a good simmer in order to thicken

To Plate:
Put filling into serving bowl and allow to cool slightly so it doesn’t quickly wilt the lettuce from the heat.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the lettuce leaves to serve. Serve quickly, as the heat of the filling will wilt the lettuce and it tastes better when the lettuce is crisp.
Top with desired garnishes

!DEVOUR!
Recipe is best warm and fresh but filling will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days