Teriyaki Pork-and-Mango Stir-Fry

It's mango season here in Hawai'i!

Last night as my family walked down the street in the cool evening weather we noticed many neighbor friends outside with their 15 foot-long poles with metal cages on the ends to pick ripe mangoes. I don't have a tree but my family and I regularly snack on dried mango and my husband loves "mango nectar" juice purchased at the store. (Hopefully a tree of our own is in the plan for this summer.)

A neighbor friend has a large mango tree and I think her family has eaten mangoes every night for the past week. (She was the one who found and shared this recipe.) I don't usually think of Asian dishes as including tropical fruit but my husband lived in Taiwan and he has corrected my assumptions. He tells me that often he came home to find large sacks of mangoes hanging on his front door.  In my husband's opinion this tropical/Asian dish was a 9.5 out of 10.

Teriyaki Pork-and-Mango Stir-Fry

1 pound boneless pork chops

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 small head napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (about 7 cups)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons store-bought teriyaki sauce

2 mangoes, cut into matchsticks

2 cups bean sprouts

On a work surface, place a pork chop between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet, pound 1/4 inch thick; repeat with the remaining chops. Slice into 1/4-inch-thick strips. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; add the pork and toss.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Shake off any excess flour from the pork and arrange in a single layer in the skillet. Cook until browned and crisp on one side, about 3 minutes; turn and cook, stirring, until browned all over, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the cabbage to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the teriyaki sauce, then toss with the pork and mangoes. Top with the bean sprouts.

Who Dished it first? Rachael Ray

My Notes: This definitely needed additional salt to taste on the finished product.

Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken

Have you heard of a Kabocha Squash? It's also called a Japanese pumpkin. No? Either had I until recently when one came in my fruit and veggie box from our local coop.

I have to admit that this little green guy sat on my counter for a month as I searched for the perfect recipe. I found many recipes for slicing, seasoning (some with chili powder and cayenne. Wow!), and baking. Finally I found this gem of a recipe on the website for The Washington Post and we all (children included) enjoyed this sweet yet savory recipe. 

I know what your first thoughts must be. Squash chunks with meat? And it's an Asian dish? Are you sure it's good? Yes!  The meat and soy sauce bring savor along with a slight sweetness of the squash.  My main disclaimer about this recipe is the carving of the vegetable. Be warned because it takes a good ten-plus minutes with a sharp knife and a strong arm. My second disclaimer is that I'm posting this recipe exactly as Chef Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro would have it even though I haven't cooked it per his exact instructions. (See my notes at the bottom of this post.) I usually don't post a recipe without trying it exactly per the original recipe but since some of my neighbors have the same squash sitting all by his lonesome on their counters I thought I would share this recipe before experimenting with it more. Plus, like I said, this recipe is kid-approved in my house so it must taste good enough to share. Agreed? 

Braised Kabocha Squash and Chicken
Courtesy of The Washington Post

1 3-pound kabocha squash
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces ground chicken*
1 tablespoon minced ginger root
2 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mirin*
2 1/2 tablespoons tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon potato starch or tapioca starch*

Use a long, heavy knife to cut the squash into quarters. Discard the seeds and strings inside; peel each quarter and cut the flesh into 1/2-inch cubes. There should be about 4 1/2 cups.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the chicken and ginger and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to break up clumps, until no pink remains in the chicken. Add the squash and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it is well coated. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and cook for 5 to 6 minutes; the squash should be submerged.

Combine the sugar and mirin in a measuring cup, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and add to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tamari or soy sauce and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid in the pan or skillet has reduced by half. The squash should be firm but tender and easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons water with the potato starch or tapioca starch in a measuring cup and add to the pan. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly; the sauce will thicken almost immediately and will take on a smooth sheen when it's done. Divide among individual bowls and serve hot.

*My Notes: I didn't have a couple of ingredients, including mirin or the preferred starch and ground meat. Instead I substituted rice vinegar for the mirin since they're very similar and cornstarch for the potato or tapioca starch. Ground chicken is expensive and hard to come by (someday I'll have my own meat grinder!) and I love the flavor of ground turkey but we ate our last package the previous night so I resorted to using ground beef. Believe it or not this dish still tasted good with ground beef.

If you try this recipe with the ground chicken or turkey before I do feel free to leave a comment with your reaction!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Disclaimer: I'm married to a Chemist and to him cooking is like chemistry in that you must follow the recipe word for word and MEASURE everything! (I usually just shake, sprinkle and eyeball my ingredients and it drives him nuts.) I must say that he is a fabulous cook, especially when it comes to an intricate recipe that requires patience and lots of work. I on the other hand like to tweak and change recipes as I go along but I don't inform him of this until I see the smile of enjoyment on his face after he has taken the first bite. Tonight's experience was no exception. (*wink*) He loved this recipe! It's an even greater compliment that my husband enjoyed my version of an Asian dish because he lived in Taiwan for two years and he knows what the authentic food really tastes like.

Tonight I really wanted to make Asian Lettuce Wraps because I had a 3-pack of iceberg lettuce I needed to use but I didn't have ground chicken like I used in my previous posting for this recipe. I had a package of ground turkey so I searched online to see if any recipes use this ingredient in place of chicken. (We love the taste of ground turkey and use it often as a healthy alternate to ground beef.)  When I couldn't find a recipe that looked tasty or didn't require ingredients that were not in my cupboard I decided to wing it. To my husband's great pleasure the recipe turned out fabulous! Even better was that my kids LOVED this! It isn't often that my 7 year old is the last one to leave the table but tonight she was. 

Asian Lettuce Wraps

(Who "Dished" it first? Me!)

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 of a red bell pepper (about 1/2 cup), diced

2-3 stalks celery, diced very small

1/2 cup finely grated carrots

1-2 teaspoons garlic

2 green onions, finely diced (I didn't have any so I used a shake or two of onion powder)

Sauce: (I have seen sauce recipes that include sesame oil and hot sauce but I was all out and I wanted to keep the heat out of this recipe for my kids' sake.)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar (I didn't have any tonight so I used apple cider vinegar)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger

Brown the ground turkey in a sauce pan drizzled with olive oil. Add the vegetables when the meat is cooked and saute for 1-2 minutes. (You can reserve the carrots to add at the very end. I've done that before but tried this tonight where I add them at the beginning at since they were so finely shredded I didn't taste a noticeable difference. I think the real difference is presentation and preserving the bright orange color.) Add three-quarters of the sauce mixture, reserving the remaining sauce for dipping. Simmer this mixture until the sauce is reduced and there is almost no liquid in the pan. While this is simmering wash, dry and separate your lettuce leaves. When the meat mixture is prepared serve it on individual lettuce leaves dribbling a spoonful of the reserved sauce on top of each. 

**My notes: The soy sauce mixture can be salty so I would use low-sodium soy sauce if you have it. Traditionally lettuce wraps are served with the reserved sauce for dipping but my family is usually happy without the extra sauce. In fact, recently I'm experimenting with adding less than 3/4 cups of sauce to the meat mixture. Leave a comment to tell me if you like it with less sauce.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

"Feed me PF Changs and I am a very happy woman!"

Rachelle at Fashionably Foodie posted her recipe for lettuce wraps similar to those served at PF Changs restaurants and I just had to make it. My husband lived in Taiwan for two years serving a mission for the LDS church so he loves good Chinese food. I am a major fan of anything PF Changs so I was very happy to see this post and make it for my family. The best part about this recipe is the simple ingredients! I had everything in my pantry and to make things even better the preparation time is short.  Thanks for the delicious recipe, Rachelle!

Photo courtesy of Rachelle's awesome blog!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

(An original by Rachelle at Fashionably Foodie)

3 chicken breasts

1 large carrot

8 whole mushrooms

3 green onions

1 red bell pepper

2 large cloves garlic

1/2 can water chestnuts, drained

2 T oil

1/4 t sesame oil

1 head lettuce, leaves washed and separated in wholes

Sauce:

1 c water

1/2 c sugar

4 T rice vinegar

2 t sesame oil

1 c soy sauce

1 t fresh ginger

Bring chicken to boil in water deep enough to cover and with a pinch of salt and clove of garlic. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from water and chop finely, about the size of a kernel of corn.

Meanwhile, finely dice onion, water chestnut, mushrooms and bell pepper to same size as chicken pieces. Also, finely grate carrot and set in separate bowl from other vegetables.

Mix together sauce ingredients, whisking to combine. The sauce recipe is already doubled to allow for extra dipping sauce. Separate half of the sauce and set aside, adding 1/8 t red pepper flakes and 1/4 t fresh ginger for added flavor in dipping.

Heat 2 T oil and 1/4 t sesame oil in a large pan. Add onions, mushrooms and red bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes to soften. Add chicken, water chestnuts and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add sauce to pan, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until liquid is reduced to almost nothing. 

Jayne's notes: The original sauce recipe called for 1 t sriracha but I don't have that so I omitted it. Rachelle said the only ingredient you shouldn't substitute out is sesame oil.