Lettuce Wraps

We tried these recently and my family loved them!  I'm adding them here as we will definitely be making them again.  The kids called them Chinese burritos.

Lettuce Wraps
Sauce: (to pour over wraps)
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp. sesame oil
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cornstarch

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, or microwave safe dish and heat until thickened.  Keep warm.

Stir fry:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 lb. ground pork or chicken  breast (you can grind the raw meat in your food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, drained
1/2 c. mushrooms
3 green onions
1 can (8 oz.) bamboo shoots, drained

Stir fry sauce:
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Make both sauces and set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine water chestnuts, mushrooms, onions and bamboo shoots and chop fine.  In a skillet or wok, heat oils, add pork and garlic and cook through.  (If there is a lot of grease at this point, spoon off, leaving only about 2 Tbsp.)  Add chopped vegetables and stir fry a couple of minutes.  Add the stir fry sauce and stir to coat.  To serve, wrap stir fry in iceberg lettuce leaves and spoon serving sauce over the top.

Notes:  This sounds a bit intense, but if you measure out and set aside the sauces first, the stir fry takes only a matter of minutes.  We used pork that I ground in my food processor.  It was delicious!  I used the left over dipping sauce as a stir fry sauce with lo mein noodles.  You can skip the dipping sauce and serve them with Plum Sauce if you like.

Another Note:  I wanted lettuce wraps this week, but didn't have bamboo shoots or water chestnuts or even mushrooms on hand.  So I substituted carrots, potato and zucchini and they turned out wonderful.  Just play with what you have on hand!

Jenny