Recipe: Chinese Lettuce Wraps for Kale

Lettuce Wraps
The latest trend at Asian restaurants, these wraps are made with lettuce.

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 lb meat from chicken breasts or sliced white chicken meat
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 can water chestnuts, rinsed in warm running water and chopped
1 slice ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced

Sauce:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

1 head iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves (whichever you prefer)

Wash the lettuce, dry, and separate the leaves. Set aside. Mix together the sauce ingredients. Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry until the garlic and ginger are aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the red pepper, water chestnuts, and celery to the frying pan. Add the sauce ingredients and cook at medium heat, Give the cornstarch/water mixture a quick restir and add to the sauce, stirring to thicken. Lay out a lettuce leaf and spoon a heaping teaspoon of the chicken and vegetable/sauce mixture into the middle. The lettuce wraps are designed to be eaten "taco-style," with the lettuce/chicken mixture folded into a package. Continue with the remainder of the chicken and lettuce leaves. Serve.

Variations: Try substituting different vegetables, or using one of the many stir-fry sauces that are now on the market in place of the sauce.


CHINESE LETTUCE WRAPS

1 lb lean ground beef, ground chicken or turkey
12-16 lettuce leaves (iceberg, Bibb, butter, etc.), rinsed and drained
1 (8-oz) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp garlic chili pepper sauce
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2-3 tsp dark sesame oil

Saute ground beef and onion in a large non-stick skilllet over medium heat. Add garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili pepper sauce; continue stirring and cooking until browned. Add water chestnuts, green onions and sesame oil. Stir and cook another minute or two. To serve arrange lettuce leaves on the outer rim of a platter. Place the meat mixture in the center of the platter. Spoon meat mixture on lettuce leaf and wrap the leaf around the filling. Eat out of hand. Yield: 4 servings