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Friday, July 22, 2011

Born This Way

Chinese lettuce wraps with mint and cilanto
My husband thinks I was born on the wrong continent. I really should have been born in Asia. I love the food, the people, the spices, the whole sensibility. We went around the world on our honeymoon and planned on spending most of our time in South East Asia and India. When I'm feeling like something Asian, I pull out a pound of ground turkey and can quickly make Chinese Turkey in Jade

Because I keep a lot of spices and condiments in my pantry, they need to be organized so I can quickly access them. I alphabetize my spices and  keep all the condiments grouped together by region , so I can quickly grab anything I need. Most of these  can be found in a regular grocery store, but I usually travel to an Asian store in Arcadia where the "second" language is English. If I don't know what something is, I ask questions. The produce is cheap, the fish is fresh and the variety of noodles is amazing! But that's another post.

Here's the recipe for:

 Chinese Turkey In Jade (From the April 1998 Gourmet Magazine)
1 lb. ground turkey
1 8oz. can of water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup snow peas, cut on the diagonal (I added 2 cups in this photo)
(not in the recipe, but I always add extra vegetables...1 cup chopped mushrooms, and 1 cup bean sprouts)
4 green onions, cut on the diagonal
2 tsp. honey
4 Tbl. soy sauce
3 Tbl. seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbl. minced garlic
3 Tbl. finely grated peeled fresh ginger root (I usually use a little less)
1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbl. sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

In a bowl with your hands, mix turkey, 1 tsp. honey, 1 Tbl. each, soy sauce, vinegar and garlic and 2 Tbl ginger root until just combined. Marinate turkey mixture 15 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk together Worcestershire sauce, water, sugar, cornstarch and remaining teaspoon honey, 3 Tbl. soy sauce and 2 Tbl. vinegar.
In a wok or large non-stick skillet heat vegetable over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking and saute turkey mixture, stirring and breaking up  lumps, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer turkey mixture to cleaned bowl. In wok or skillet, stir-fry remaining tablespoon each garlic and ginger root 15 seconds. Add remaining sauce, and water chestnuts and stir-fry until sauce is thickened and snow peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Remove wok or skillet from heat and stir in sesame oil  and salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with mint and cilantro leaves in lettuce cups.
Serves four as a main course


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