This quick meal was inspired by my boyfriend's Chinese heritage. One of the courses in Peking duck is lettuce wraps; using a spoon you fill an iceberg lettuce leaf with stir fried duck. It is quite delicious! There are nice juicy pieces of duck meat, a little bit of vegetables and crunchy vermicelli noodles topped with hoisin sauce.
Not easily finding minced duck, we opted for ground beef in our version. This dish is quick to make and can easily be used as a fresh new appetizer at a party or as part of a main dish. In fact, we used the leftover meat for tacos on homemade soft shells.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) zucchini, roughly chopped
Small pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp (45 mL) fresh ginger, finely grated*
Pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) red chili flakes
1 cup (240 mL) mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (60 mL) hoisin sauce
1/4-1/2 cup (60-120 mL) peanuts, shelled, unsalted, roughly chopped (optional)
1 head iceberg or romaine lettuce, leaves separated
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) zucchini, roughly chopped
Small pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp (45 mL) fresh ginger, finely grated*
Pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) red chili flakes
1 cup (240 mL) mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (60 mL) hoisin sauce
1/4-1/2 cup (60-120 mL) peanuts, shelled, unsalted, roughly chopped (optional)
1 head iceberg or romaine lettuce, leaves separated
Method
1. Brown the beef in a medium to large skillet, break up the ground meat while cooking for 3-4 minutes.
2. When the beef seems mostly cooked through, mix in the onions. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
3. When onions are starting to get translucent, add the chopped zucchini. Sprinkle a little salt over the zucchinis to draw out some moisture, and mix thoroughly.
4. Cover the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Remove the cover and reduce the cooking liquids by at least 3/4.
6. Create a well in middle of the beef mixture and add the garlic, scallions, ginger, black pepper, and chili flakes. Stir the aromatic mixture in the well and let cook for a minute. Then, thoroughly mix with the beef and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Stir in mushrooms and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms have absorbed the flavour.
8. Turn off the heat, leaving the skillet on the heat source. Add hoisin sauce and peanuts, mix well and cover until ready to serve.
2. When the beef seems mostly cooked through, mix in the onions. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
3. When onions are starting to get translucent, add the chopped zucchini. Sprinkle a little salt over the zucchinis to draw out some moisture, and mix thoroughly.
4. Cover the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Remove the cover and reduce the cooking liquids by at least 3/4.
6. Create a well in middle of the beef mixture and add the garlic, scallions, ginger, black pepper, and chili flakes. Stir the aromatic mixture in the well and let cook for a minute. Then, thoroughly mix with the beef and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Stir in mushrooms and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms have absorbed the flavour.
8. Turn off the heat, leaving the skillet on the heat source. Add hoisin sauce and peanuts, mix well and cover until ready to serve.
Makes about 24 small wraps.
*If ginger does not keep well in your refrigerator, I suggest you buy it fresh, peel it and freeze it. You can then easily grate it on a microplane when needed in recipes.
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