Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps

By mz0926

Cook's Country


1. FOR THE FILLING: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add beef, pork, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up pieces with spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to bowl.


2. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper, scallion whites, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until vegetables are just starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


3. Return meat and any accumulated juices to skillet with vegetables. Sprinkle flour over meat and cook, stirring constantly, until evenly coated, about 1 minute. Add broth, bring to boil, and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Transfer filling to bowl and stir in scallion greens. Refrigerate until completely cool, about 1 hour. (Filling can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)


4. FOR THE DOUGH: Process flour, salt, and baking powder in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add shortening and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 6 to 8 pulses. Add broth and eggs and pulse until dough just comes together, about 5 pulses. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead until dough forms smooth ball, about 20 seconds. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. (Dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)


5. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll into 6-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Place ¼ cup filling in center of dough round. Brush edges of dough with water and fold dough over filling. Press to seal, trim any ragged edges, and crimp edges with tines of fork. Transfer to prepared sheet. (Filled pies can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)


6. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet. Add 1 quart oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about ¾ inch deep and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Place 4 pies in oil and fry until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side, using slotted spatula or spider to flip. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 325 and 350 degrees. Transfer pies to prepared wire rack and place in oven to keep warm. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining pies. Serve.





Don’t Make This Mistake: Overstuffing


Be sure to roll the dough into 6-inch rounds and fill each meat pie using a ¼-cup measure. If the meat pies are overstuffed, they may rupture and the filling will leak out in the hot frying oil.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
• 1 (16-ounce) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated

Preparation

Step 1

1. Whisk hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, and chili-garlic sauce together in large bowl; set aside. Pulse half of pork in food processor until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Transfer to separate bowl and repeat with remaining pork.


2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook pork until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Transfer pork to bowl with hoisin mixture. Stir to combine.


3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook bell pepper and water chestnuts until bell pepper softens, about 3 minutes. Add ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add pork mixture to skillet, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer to serving dish. To serve, spoon pork mixture into lettuce leaves.