Stir It 28 Recap - Lettuce Wraps Two Ways

I'm a little bit late to the table on this, but I wanted to throw out a big thank you to Christy over at Balance for putting together a really fun and successful event this past Sunday to raise money for Haiti relief in conjunction with the Stir It 28 event happening simultaneously in several cities.

The afternoon consisted of way more food and drink than could be consumed by around 30 or more very happy attendees (at least the ones I knew said so!) and another 10 or so food bloggers who got to play in the beautiful teaching kitchen at NYU School of Nutrition and Food Studies.  In the excitement, I only managed to get pictures of my own food and the decorations, but I encourage you to check out the blogs below because everything was really tasty and the bloggers themselves are fun people.

Menu (links to participating bloggers courtesy of Balance)

Appetizers
Dumpling Bar:

Veggie Dumplings,Cranberry Mushroom Dumplings, Pork & Cabbage Dumplings

Panko stuffed shiitake mushrooms

Spring rolls, both vegetarian and non

Entrees

Lemongrass corn soup

Enchiladas rojas

Red Cooked Pork on Steamed Buns & Cucumber Salad

Minced Chicken in Lettuce Cups Mushrooms & Tofu in lettuce cups

Desserts

Chinese-flavor inspired cupcakes

Walnut Cookies

Vegan chocolate chip cookies with hints of cinnamon and star anise

For my part, I made one of my favorite dishes of all time - Minced Chicken with Lettuce Cups.  Lettuce wraps are considered lucky for Chinese New Year because the word for lettuce wrap in Cantonese (I hear - please Year of the Tiger!correct me if I'm wrong) sounds like the word for 'rising fortune' - a very good thing indeed.  Apparently adding dried oysters makes the dish even luckier, but I wasn't ready to give that a try just yet.  If you do, let me know.

The recipe I used comes from the old stand-by Williams Sonoma Stir Fry Cookbook and represents a very simple basic version which satisfies the craving.  The recipe defies my usual rule which is to substitute more authentic ingredients whenever possible.  The traditional Chinese dish, Gai Soong, is made with pigeon, and while using some Brooklyn pigeon could make this extremely local and authentic, minced chicken is a much better choice for me.As an aside, I still think the best lettuce wraps are at Betelnut on Chestnut Street in San Francisco, but I'm on a constant quest to try more.

As a challenge to myself and in order to help make the dish appropriate for a mixed crowd, I also played with a vegetarian version (it's even vegan!) and was quite pleased with the results.  I've included an either/or set up in the recipe, but feel free to make both (doubling the sauce) and mix and match. 

A note on lettuce: the recipe calls for iceberg lettuce, undoubtedly for its tough structure and cool crunch.  I used butter lettuce for its pretty leaves and marginally better nutritional value.  I urge you to experiment with lettuces keeping in mind taste, texture and strength of the leaves.  Butter lettuce is a bit flimsy, but it's my favorite.

Lettuce Wraps Two Ways (adapted from Williams-Sonoma Stir Fry)

• 1lb. ground chicken
• 1 1/2 - 2 blocks extra firm tofu
• 16 ounces shitake mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, divided
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar, preferably unseasoned, divided
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Sauce:

• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar, preferably unseasoned
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (available in the Asian section of your grocery store)
• 2 tsp corn starch

• 6 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 4 scallions, finely chopped (including green tops)
• 4 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 cups water chestnuts, rinsed, well drained and coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 1 head lettuce of your choice

1. Place tofu under a heavy plate or baking pan weighted with cans.  Let water squeeze out while you chop mushrooms and other ingredients. This step may be omitted but helps the tofu absorb the sauce and marinade.
2. In a bowl, combine chicken and half of soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil.  Stir to mix well. Set aside.
3. Slice tofu lengthwise into thin strips and chop again into small cubes. Place in a bowl with chopped mushrooms and remaining soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil.  Set aside.
4. To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients and stir in corn starch to dissolve.  Set aside. (Note: I transported the sauce in a jar which made the dissolving very easy - shake it up!)
5. In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat.  Add chicken and stir quickly, breaking up any large pieces until no longer pink.  Push to side of pan or remove and set aside. Add half of scallions, ginger and water chestnuts and toss quickly for 1 minute.  Add 1/2 of prepared sauce and stir in cooked chicken.  Stir until thickened slightly.  Remove from heat.
6. Wipe down pan (or use a second one if maintaining vegetarian/vegan meal is important) and heat additional 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat.  Repeat step 5 with mushroom and tofu mixture.
7. Stir in half of pine nuts in each finished mixture.  Serve with lettuce wraps.

Note on leftovers: if you run out of lettuce wraps or want to make extra of either mixture, they taste great over rice.  Serve with a vegetable or salad and you have another twist on the meal.

Ready for Some Football: Chipotle Turkey Two Bean Chili

In order to get ready for a little football game you might have heard about, I decided it was time for some chili! This might be the furthest into cold weather that I've gone without making chili ever.  It was definitely time.  Usually, I swear by Don Henley's recipe (yes, that Don Henley) which is a real Texas chili (read: no beans) and I generally tweak it slightly depending on my mood and how healthy I am trying to be.

This fall/winter season, I've been eyeing a Black Bean & Beef Chipotle Chili recipe that looked really unique and satisfied the deep love affair I've been having with chipotle peppers.  Since I made the shepherd's pie with beef earlier this month, I figured I'd switch things up and make this chili with turkey instead.  Then it turned out that I didn't have any black beans ready to go.  So I used the technique from the first recipe, tweaked it in accordance with Don Henley's recipe (no chili is complete without beer for me now...) and then added my own flair.  And so tonight, a new recipe is born.

One word of warning - my preparation is pretty spicy, even for us.  Adjust the chili powder and chipotles and use regular tomatoes to make it more your style.

And on a personal note, my philosophy of supporting everything local was obviously thwarted this year.  My football philosophy, however, is this - when in doubt, root for a Manning! It works for me.  Go Colts!

Chipotle Turkey Two Bean Chili

• 2 15 ounce cans kidney beans, drained and well rinsed
• 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and well rinsed
• 1 15 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis
• 2 medium chipotle peppers plus 1 1/2 tbsp adobo sauce
• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, minced, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 bottle of beer
• 1 lime
• 4 tsp cilantro
• 1 medium ripe avocado

1. Place 1/3 of the bean mixture in the food processor along with the tomatoes and chipotle peppers and process until smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Cook turkey until no longer pink.  Remove from pot with slotted spoon.
3. Add 1/2 of onion and all garlic into pot and cook until fragrant and softened, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add cumin and chili powder and cook quickly, about 20 seconds.  Immediately add bean mixture, remaining beans, turkey and 1/2 bottle of beer (drink the rest!).
5. Simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes or until ready to eat. Keep an eye on the thickness if you continue to simmer.  This is a very thick chili.  If it's too thick, add more beer and open yourself another!
6. While simmering, place avocado, half the cilantro and remaining onion in bowl for avocado topping.  Squeeze half of the lime into the avocado and the other half into the chili. Add remaining cilantro to the chili.
7. Grate cheddar cheese to serve as an additional topping if you choose.