As moms, we often want to have a special night out with our family–and have a night off. But that isn’t always financially feasible, is it? We are a family of six, so eating out can be really pricey. In fact, we met friends at a fancier hamburger restaurant this past Sunday night, and the bill plus tip was over $100. For hamburgers! This kind of eating HAS to be a rarity in our home, or we will be homeless soon.
So, I thought I’d start a series here on some of our favorite restaurant foods that we make at home. Today, let’s talk Asian cuisine from one of our favorite restaurants, P.F. Changs. I have three recipes, which my family loves: Lettuce Wraps, Egg Rolls and WonTon Soup.
Lettuce Wraps
4 T canola oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and sliced in strips
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 c. water chestnuts, chopped
1 c. mushrooms, sliced finely
1 medium vidalia onion, chopped finely
1 t. minced garlic
8 large pieces lettuce, your favorite kind
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water plus 4 t. separated
8 T. soy sauce, separated
4 T. brown sugar
4 T rice vinegar plus 1 t., separated
4 T. ketchup
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. sesame oil
2 T. hot mustard
3 t. garlic and red chili paste
Heat oil over medium high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Sauté onion garlic, mushrooms and water chestnuts for 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl, retaining oil in the pan. Sauté chicken strips for 10 minutes or until golden brown on both sides and thoroughly cooked inside. Remove and when slightly cool, cut into smaller pieces. Add to onion mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 4 T. brown sugar and 1 t. rice vinegar.
Blend into chicken mixture. Return mixture to pan and heat through over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Spoon this mixture evenly into lettuce pieces, rolling them up like a burrito.
In a pyrex measuring dish, heat 1 c. water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Blend in 1/2 c. sugar. Add 4 T. soy sauce, 4 T. rice vinegar, 4 T. ketchup, 2 T. lemon juice and 1/4 t. sesame oil. Blend thoroughly. In a separate bowl, blend 2 T. hot mustard and 4 T. water. Add this mixture and 3 t. garlic and red chili paste to pyrex dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
Serve lettuce wraps on a plate with sauce in a small dish in the middle with a spoon. You may dip it or cover the lettuce with this sauce. Enjoy!!
Egg Rolls
1/2 lb. lean boneless pork
2 T. peanut or sesame oil plus 2 c., divided
1 – 8 oz. pkg. mushrooms, chopped
1 c. chopped bean sprouts
1/2 c. finely chopped water chestnuts
2 green onions, finely chopped
4 c. finely shredded cabbage
2 T. soy sauce
1 T plus 1 t. cornstarch
1 – 16 oz. pkg. egg roll wrappers
Process food in a food processor until finely chopped. Cook pork in 2 T. peanut (sesame) oil over medium high heat for two minutes, until the meat crumbles. Add mushrooms, sprouts, water chestnuts and green onions, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Stir in cabbage.
Combine soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring well. Add to meat mixture and cook 2-3 minutes until thick and bubbly.
Spoon 1/3 c. mixture in center of wrapper. Fold top corner and wrapper over filling, tucking tip of corner under filling. Fold left and right corners over filling. Lightly brush remaining corner with water. Tightly roll end toward remaining corner and gently press to seal.
Pour 2 c. oil in wok or dutch oven. Heat to 375 degrees. Fry egg rolls a few at a time for 2 minutes or until golden, turning once. Yields 16 egg rolls.
Wonton Soup
6 chicken breasts
9 c. water
1 onion chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 t. salt
1 t. garlic pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. basil
1/8 t. black pepper
8 sliced bacon, cooked
1 small carton mushrooms, sliced
1 pint baby spinach leaves
4 green onions, sliced
2 T. butter
1 package wonton wrappers
8 T. soy sauce
Boil chicken in water with onion, celery, red bell pepper, salt, garlic pepper, garlic cloves, black pepper and basil for 45 minutes in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Scoop out chicken with slotted spoon and let cool.
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and green onions. Sauté for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add crumbled bacon to this mixture. Fold one spoonful into each wonton wrapper and fold in each side thoroughly.
Chop chicken and add to chicken broth in the stock pot. Also add the spinach. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes more until hot and bubbly. Gently drop wontons into stock pot, one at a time. Cook 10 minutes more. Turn down heat to low and gently stir in soy sauce.
Next month, I will share some of our favorite Mexican fare from Costa Vida.
Blessings,
Holly
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