SAN CHOY BAU / LETTUCE WRAPPED MEAT

Happy Easter everyone! Sorry I have been so slack at blogging recently but I have been super busy eating and drinking. I have been cooking loads out of my new Fay Ripley cook book but instead of writing about it, I have been lolling about on the sofa like a fat so-and-so. The scales are not my friend but I am too busy enjoying myself to do anything about it….I figured it's still Easter holidays anyway.

Fay Ripley's new cook book is full of fabulous recipes and I had so much fun going through it putting post-its on what I wanted to cook. I chose this recipe first as it is one of our family favourites at a Chinese - although we like to call it the very sophisticated…lettuce wrapped meat.

You can serve these as a canapé / starter for 4-6 people or as a main course for 4 people with a big noodle salad, or just have them on their own for 2 people (which is what we did):

Ingredients:

2tbsp peanut / sesame oil
500g pork mince
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
6 salad onions, trimmed and chopped (I used 3 big continental onions)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2-3 baby gem lettuces, leaves washed and separated

First of all prepare all the ingredients - chop the peppers and spring onions, grate the ginger, crush the garlic and separate and wash the lettuce leaves.

Over a high heat, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok and fry the mince for 5 minutes, turning it and breaking it up as it browns.

Add the peppers and onions and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and keep stirring for a further two minutes. Then add the ginger, soy and hoisin sauces and mix everything together for another two minutes.

Once the meat is ready, spoon it on to your leaves and tuck in.

This was very tasty although unfortunately it wasn't as good as my old local Chinese in Sevenoaks, The Sun Do. I guess I can't compare it as they having been cooking excellent Chinese cuisine for over 30 years plus they include prawns, noodles, water chestnuts etc in theirs. 

I would definitely do these again however but I would add some water chestnuts or even some cashew nuts to them. One of the great benefits of these is that they are super healthy and I definitely expect kid friendly too (if they can get their heads round eating lettuce)! An alternative would be to serve the pork with some rice and noodles - I know Arabella would devour that….as would Pascal and I!!