San Choy Bao (Pork Lettuce Wraps; Genevieve Ko, NYT Cooking)

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce or tian mian jiang (sweet bean sauce), plus more for serving
  • 1½ tablespoons Shaoxing or other rice wine, or dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Filling Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 red Fresno chile or serrano chile, finely chopped (seeded for mild)
  • ½ large yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 pound ground or very finely diced pork, chicken or turkey
  • Freshly ground white or black pepper
  • 2 celery stalks, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 piece of Jicama, peeled and chopped coursely
  • romaine lettuce

Make the sauce: In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch into a tablespoon of water until it dissolves. Stir in the soy sauce, hoisin, wine and sesame oil. Set aside.

Make the filling: Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a wok or large skillet over high. When it shimmers, add the garlic, ginger and chile, and stir until fragrant and shiny, 10 seconds. Add the onion and stir until translucent at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the meat and spread and mash it into the aromatics. Generously grind pepper all over. Cook, stirring and breaking the meat into small chunks, until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the celery and water chestnuts and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the sauce, pour it into the wok and stir until everything is coated and the pan juices have thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the filling to a large serving dish.