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Wraps critiqued with munching sounds

The pre-dinner conversation:

"Whatcha cooking?" asks husband.

"Lettuce wraps."

Sounds of crickets and cicadas.

"They're like Asian tacos, but with lettuce instead of taco shells."

"Oh, OK."

The during dinner conversation:

"So what do you think?" I ask husband.

Sounds of chewing.

"Really, what do you think?" I say quickly before he can shove another bite in his mouth.

"They're pretty good."

"Do you want to know what's in them, so you can make them next time?"

"Nope. Because if you tell me I probably won't like them anymore."

Coconut Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 red chile pepper, stemmed and sliced, seeds removed if desired

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound ground chicken

4 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1 large handful cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped

Leaves from several sprigs fresh mint, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts

1 to 2 heads romaine OR butter lettuce, separated into leaves

In a deep skillet, whisk together the coconut milk, chile pepper, ginger and garlic and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the ground chicken. Reduce heat to medium and cook, breaking the chicken into crumbles, until the coconut milk is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the green onion, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded coconut, cilantro, mint and peanuts.

Serve mixture in lettuce leaves.

Makes about 3 servings.

Recipe adapted from Coconut Every Day by Sasha Seymour

Food on 07/30/2014

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