Asian Lettuce Wraps

I was craving lettuce wraps the other day and immediately remembered about after I had Reese and my friend, Emily, brought me dinner. As a 2 day old she developed a severe milk allergy and I had to immediately go off all dairy if I wanted to continue breast feeding. I thought for sure I was doomed because it was appalling at how many things had dairy in it. Emily saved me with these. They were so delicious and flavorful. Who says you can’t eat healthy AND have it be super good! I also loved how the meat wasn’t ground. Usually lettuce wraps call for ground turkey or chicken. I loved how this recipe used whole chicken breasts, diced small. It will sure to be one of your favorites!

Chicken: 3  tablespoons oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1  can water chestnut
1 can mushroom
1/2 onion, diced small
2-3 garlic cloves
4 -5 leaves butter head lettuce (or iceburg is fine too)

Special Sauce 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard 
2 teaspoons water
1 -2 teaspoon red chile paste (depending on how spicy you like them)
2 garlic cloves, minced

 Stir Fry Sauce 2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

  Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.  Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement (depending on how spicy you want it) of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.  Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
3 Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are. With the pan still on high heat, add another tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to pan. Add stir fry sauce to pan, saute mixture a couple minutes then serve in lettuce leaves. Top with Special Sauce. ENJOY!!!

Thai Chicken AKA: The Best Chicken EVER

I had this for the first time at my Aunt Mara’s house. I’ve gotten A LOT of my awesome recipes from her and her recipe collections. She suggested we make this chicken and said her family dies over it. When I read that it had peanut butter in it, I was EXTREMELY skeptical. I’m not really into savory dishes with peanut butter in them. Not at all. Well this chicken broke the mold. I LOVE THIS CHICKEN. That’s a fact. After I had it at my aunts, I made it 3 more times in the next 2 weeks. It’s THAT GOOD. Flavorful, moist and perfect. If you’re having people over for a summer BBQ, make this your main dish…people with beg at your feet for the recipe. If you’re having a lot of people over, definitely double the recipe. I actually double it every time because the chicken is perfect chopped up and cold on top of a salad.

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless  chicken (either tenderloins or breasts cut in half)

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter

2 limes juiced and zested

3 cloves garlic

3 T soy sauce

3T brown sugar

1/4 cup cilantro, minced

1 T fresh ginger, minced or 1 t ground ginger

1 T sesame oil

skewers, soaked in water

Combine all ingredients besides chicken in a bowl and whisk together. Combine marinade and chicken and put in a ziploc bag. Marinate in fridge overnight or at least 2 hours. Place each chicken piece on a skewer and grill on a BBQ. Enjoy the best chicken you’ve ever had!!

Toasted Sesame Salmon

I’ve been craving a lot of fish lately, mainly Asia salmon. Weird, right? I had that craving almost every other day while I was pregnant and never had the energy to make it or pay for it at a restaurant. I found this recipe and knew it was going to be perfect. All the ingredients just go together, you know? And it comes out PERFECT every single time. I even buy the frozen salmon filets from Costco (SHHH, don’t tell anyone:)) so I don’t feel guilty about eating 5 times a week cause it won’t break the bank. Ha! I LOVE THIS FISH!!

1 1/2 pounds raw salmon (I use about 3-4 filets)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (I use about 1/2t ground ginger)
1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
4 green onions, sliced

In a large bowl or baking dish, combine olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar and whisk well until combined. Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat your outside grill, indoor grill pan, or George Foreman (this is what I use.) Remove salmon with kitchen tongs and place directly on the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes (George Foreman obviously will cook super fast), depending on the salmon’s thickness, until opaque and easily flakable with a fork. Flip the salmon halfway through cooking. Remove and serve immediately, with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, green onions and the glaze below.

Sesame Honey Glaze
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (I use a dash of ground ginger)
1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over salmon. ENJOY!!

*From howsweeteats.com

Asian Pasta Salad

I LOVE salads like this. You don’t have to cook a dang thing and it’s so refreshing. I’ve really been on this Asian kick too…loving the toasted sesame oil. And the best part is that it gets better and better as the days go by. The perfect salad to make and have for lunch the next day…and the next…and the next…

1 lb bowtie pasta
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
2-3 T sesame oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2-3 cups of rotisserie chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (put more chicken if you want it meatier)
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seed
3 cups washed baby spinach

Boil and cook pasta. Make sure to salt the cooking water. Drain pasta and set and rinse with cold water. In a separate bowl combine oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and rice vinegar until well blended. In a large bowl combine pasta, peppers, onion, chicken and spinach. Toss with the sauce until well combined. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Keep in fridge until ready to eat, or serve immediately, either way is delicious.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

I saw this one on Our Best Bites and knew I needed to try it right away. It definitely hit the spot! It was simple and delicious. Instead of using ground chicken, I used ground turkey and we loved it! I tell ya...I'm completely converted to ground turkey. I have not been disappointed yet. Try this and you'll love it!

2 t olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used about 1 t ground ginger since my fresh ginger was bad)
1 lb ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage ( I used about 3 cups of shredded cabbage)
1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced
1/2 C thinly sliced green onions
4 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice)
1/2-1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce (I omitted this)
1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro (I omitted this)
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs water
2 tsp honey
1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger (I used a few sprinkles of ground ginger)

Heat a very large skillet to medium-high heat on the stove top. When hot, add vegetable oil and then garlic and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add ground chicken, chopped mushrooms, and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through. (*At this point, sometimes I have some extra liquid in the pan from the chicken. If it’s quite a bit, I tilt the pan and spoon it out so the chicken can cook and not boil.) Add cabbage/coleslaw, water chestnuts, and green onions. Cook for about 2 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, the zest from the lemon and the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro (if you are adding.)

To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

To serve, carefully remove the individual leaves from the head of lettuce. (The closer you get to the center, the easier it becomes!) Place chicken mixture in the leaves and serve with sauce.

Yield: about 5 C chicken mixture. Makes 14-16 lettuce wraps.

*From Our Best Bites

Simple Sesame Noodles

I saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman this afternoon and IMMEDIATELY made them! Somehow I had all of the ingredients...who knows how. They are DELICIOUS and I would eat them all day and all night! I had a TON leftover, so I am going to be adding a stir-fry vegetable mix and some diced chicken for the full stir-fry meal. But, they are delicious by themselves.

12 ounces thin noodles, cooked and drained (angel hair, thin spaghetti, or Asian style)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons pure sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon hot chile oil (I didn't use this)
4 to 5 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin (if you have them)

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.
Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
Serve in a bowl with chopsticks. Yummy!

* From The Pioneer Woman.

PS: Did you all know that The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook is coming out at the end of October?? And did you also know that she's coming HERE to SLC to do a book-signing?!?! I'm SOOO THERE!!!

Pork and Green Beans in Hoisin Sauce

1 pound pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper
4 medium garlic cloves, smashed
12 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish, optional
Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish, optional
Steamed rice, for serving, if desired

Trim excess fat and silverskin from tenderloin. Cut into 1-inch pieces, pat with paper towels, rub with some sesame oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place a medium skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon sesame oil. When oil shimmers, add pork and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side.

Remove pork to a plate, return skillet to stove, and 2 T olive oil and add garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add green beans and stir occasionally until browned, about 3 minutes. Add apple juice and hoisin, stir to combine, and cook until beans are tender and sauce is reduced slightly, about 4 minutes. Return pork to pot, turn to coat in sauce, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, if using, and serve over rice.

*I watched this on the Food Network and my mouth was watering so bad I immediately jumped in the car and raced to the store. To get an exact pound of tenderloin, I went to the meat counter and asked the butcher for an even pound. Then I cut it into large chunks. When smashing the garlic, leave the clove in it's skin and turn it on its side and smash it with a large bladed knife. It pretty much pops out of it's skin and instantly "chops" the garlic. The original recipe calls for sherry, but I just substituted apple juice instead - it was all about adding a sweeter bite to the dish. You don't taste apple at all...if you were wondering. I used fresh green beans because in my opionion, nothing else is better...but when it came down to it - I knew Justin would have liked it better with canned. Just use what you are comfortable with. I had never cooked with hoisin sauce (because I never cook oriental food) and I was VERY pleasantly surprized! The glaze it creates is delicious! I would recommend trying this. It's different, but SO good!
*Adapted from The Food Network