asian lettuce wraps

prep time:  tbd
cook time: 10 minutes
servings:  makes 12 appetizer servings or 4 main dish servings.

sauce ingredients:
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

seasonings & meat ingredients:
1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed, caps cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
2 thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped canned bamboo shoots
1/2 cup chopped canned water chestnuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey
lettuce and other vegetables
12 large bibb lettuce leaves or iceberg lettuce leaves
other vegetables (optional):  fresh bean sprouts, fresh mint sprigs & fresh cilantro sprigs
3 tablespoons peanut oil or other vegetable oil

sauce steps:
1.  in a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, sherry, oyster sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, sugar, and cornstarch. do this when you’re ready to cook, because if cornstarch is in contact with citrus juice for more than 10 minutes, it will lose its ability to thicken. or, mix everything together ahead of time except the cornstarch. whisk in the cornstarch just before adding the sauce in the recipe.

seasonings &meat steps:
1.  wash and dry the lettuce leaves and set them on a platter. prepare small bowls with bean sprouts, mint, and cilantro, if desired, and set them on the table.

2.  to cook, have all seasonings and meat nearby. heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until very hot. add all the seasonings and meat and cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, until meat loses its pink color and is cooked completely. taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary.

3.  whisk cooking sauce to combine well, remembering to add cornstarch if you didn’t a few minutes earlier. add to wok or skillet and cook and stir about 1 minute until sauce boils and thickens.

4.  remove from heat, taste carefully, and adjust seasoning as needed. transfer to a bowl and serve as soon as possible.

5.  to eat, spoon meat mixture into lettuce leaf and top with a few bean sprouts, mint and cilantro sprigs. roll up and eat.

- missoulian, july 2010; borrowed from p.f. chang's