A delightfully tangy take on Asian-inspired lettuce wraps that uses ground chicken for a healthy and mouth-watering meal.
Served with a light (i.e. egg-less) twist on traditional fried rice made with chopped kimchee that will transport you to Korea without the jet lag.
Ingredients to set out
- 1lb ground chicken
1 lime for cooking, 1 lime cut into wedges for plating
1 Serrano chili (or jalapeno)
1 shallot
Sugar
Oyster sauce - Fish sauce
Panko breadcrumbs
1 Garlic clove minced - Olive oil
Scallions diced for topping
Romaine lettuce or savoy cabbage fronds (2 per person)
Prep the Patties
In a small dish combine:
2T fish sauce
Half the Serrano
1 Shallot chopped finely
1 Garlic glove, chopped finely
2 T Oyster sauce
A good 1/4 C panko crumbs
Dump that mixture into a bowl with the ground chicken. Wet your hands and mix until all is incorporated. Then form the mixture into as many small patties as you like. Set aside.
For the drizzle sauce
2T fish sauce
Juice of one Lime
1 T Sugar
The other half of Serrano
Blend with a small fork and set aside
Now, get cooking.
The kimchee fried rice will take a bit longer, so get that started before you make the patties. Say, a 4-minute head start (see below).
As the rice pan is getting hot, drizzle oil into the patty pan and get hot over medium heat. When the rice is started, drop in the patties and cook for 4 minutes per side. Not a second more.
Kimchee Fried Rice
Cook white rice early in the day according to instructions. Let sit at room temp in a tupper for a good half hour. Then put into fridge until 30 minutes before dinner prep.
When ready to go, heat oil over medium heat for a good four minutes.
Kimchee Rice Sauce
1/4 C Kimchi sauce liquid
1T gochujang
2T fish sauce
Mash with a fork until the gochujang is mostly dissolved.
In a pan, sauté kimchee for 3-4 minutes. Add cold rice and press everything to make as flat as possible. Do not disturb for a good 5 minutes.
Add prepped sauce and stir/flip until until everything is blended and maybe getting a little crispy on the bottom. At least 5 minutes and can go longer.
To Plate
Portion the rice and top with chopped scallions and Furikake
Place the cooked patties onto the lettuce vehicle of your choice (we think a large savoy cabbage leaf is best).
Place the patty sauce in the center of the table with a spoon to splash over the green leaf sammy along with a drizzle of lime.
Let the flavors begin. Oh, and napkins should be excessively handy.