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San Choy Bao (Pork and Water Chestnut Lettuce Wraps)

San choy bao literally translates from Cantonese to “lettuce wrap,” and its contours are wide: cold iceberg lettuce, a stir-fry of finely diced vegetables and protein, and sweet Chinese bean sauce like hoisin (The deep-fried noodles here aren’t essential, but they add a fantastic crackle to the juicy filling.) Unlike soft, warm comfort food, which lulls you, san choy bao wakes you up It feels like a duel, with jabs of hot and cold, lunging back and forth between two worlds

Chinese35 minhard4 servings
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San Choy Bao (Pork and Water Chestnut Lettuce Wraps)

Ingredients

  • Can ola oil, for frying
  • 2 ounce sdried rice vermicelli, broken into small er piece s
  • 2 teaspoon scornstarch
  • 3 tablespoon ssoy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon shoisin sauce or tian mian jiang (sweet bean sauce), plus more for serving
  • \1 1/2 tablespoon sShaoxing or other rice wine, or dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoon scan ola oil
  • 3 garlic clove s, finely chopped
  • 1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 red Fresno chile or serrano chile, finely chopped (seeded for mild)
  • 1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 pound ground or very finely diced pork, chicken or turkey (see Tip)
  • Freshly ground white or black pepper
  • 2 celery stalk s, finely diced, plus leaves for garnish
  • 1(8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and diced, or 3 fresh water chestnuts, peeled and diced
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce, leaves separated for serving, chilled

Instructions

  1. Make the noodles (if you want): Set a paper towel lined plate and slotted spoon or chopsticks next to the stovetop. Pour 1/2 inch of oil into a small saucepan. Heat over medium until shimmering, 2 to 3 minutes. Test the oil: When you drop in a noodle, the noodle should immediately puff and turn white. (If it turns brown and brittle, that means the oil is too hot. Turn down the heat slightly.)
  2. Add a small bundle of noodles and cook just until they puff and turn white, about a second. Transfer immediately to the paper towels. Repeat with the remaining noodles.
  3. Make the sauce: In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch into a tablespoon of water until it dissolves. Stir in the soy sauce, hoisin, wine and sesame oil.
  4. Make the filling: Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil (if you made the noodles, use some of that oil) in a wok or large skillet over high. When it shimmers, add the garlic, ginger and chile, and stir until fragrant and shiny, 10 seconds. Add the onion and stir until translucent at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes.
  5. Add the meat and spread and mash it into the aromatics. Generously grind pepper all over. Cook, stirring and breaking the meat into small chunks, until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Add the celery and water chestnuts and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the sauce, pour it into the wok and stir until everything is coated and the pan juices have thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the filling to a large serving dish. If your celery had leaves, use them as garnish.
  7. Set the filling next to a platter of the lettuce, a dish of hoisin and the plate of noodles, if using. To eat, swipe some sauce into a lettuce leaf, stuff it with filling and top with noodles

Tips

Tip For an especially flavorful filling, choose ground meat with a higher percentage of fat or cuts of meat with more fat, such as dark meat chicken or turkey, or pork shoulder or belly. This also is delicious with finely diced or ground duck or squab or, for those who don’t eat meat, with diced baked tofu, shrimp or fish. The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.