Wanderlust Chef

For tonight’s menu, based on a version of last night’s meal, I decided on chicken lettuce cups to start and roasted duck with chicken fried rice for an entrée. Elysa and Alan who were our guests for tonight’s dinner were in charge of bringing the wine.

I had never cooked a duck before but lettuce cups and chicken fried rice seemed easy enough so I wasn’t too worried. I wrote up my shopping list and off we went to the Hong Kong Supermarket on Hester Street in Chinatown since it is more or less the go to spot for Chinese ingredients.

Since HK Market was a first for both of us It took a little longer to navigate then the average. The workers do not speak English and there is a wide variety of produce that you certainly won’t be finding at your local Wholefoods. I frequently caught my sous chef lost and blankly staring at the produce as if the bok choy would hop up and start waving. Anyway, after 45 minutes and a basket of misc. items later we were ready to check out.

Next, we headed over to Golden Fung Wong Bakery on Mott Street which is known for their moon cakes and sesame balls filled with red bean paste. Since I am typically not a huge fan of red bean paste I come here for one reason and one reason only – homemade X-rated fortune cookies! I grabbed a box and headed my merry way home.

The Menu:

Chicken Lettuce Cups:

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons clear rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/3 cup green onion
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used baby portabella)
• 1 cup water chestnuts, minced
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, minced
• 10 inner leaves iceberg lettuce, edges trimmed and chilled

Peking Duck Wraps

• 1 Duck – rubbed in olive oil, spices, and baked @ 400 until it smelled ready (about 45 min)
• Hoisin sauce
• Thin pancakes
• Cucumbers thinly sliced
• Scallions thinly sliced

Chicken Fried Rice

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, minced
• 1 cup minced yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups cold cooked brown rice
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce

In comparison to the restaurant:

Lettuce Cups – I used less oil, more veggies, and larger chunks of chicken.

Duck – I could not achieve the same crispy skin but the actual meat came out just as tender and juicy from baking. For those that haven’t had duck – it reminds me of a more flavorful dark meat chicken. I also much preferred their homemade paper thin pancakes to my store bought ones. In hind sight they are not hard to make and recommend putting in the effort.

Rice – I opted to use brown instead of white, I replaced the shrimp with chicken, and because I used less oil I also could not achieve the same crispy rice texture.

Guest Reviews:

 

Elysa – Appreciated my healthier take on the lettuce cups and rice but refused to try the duck since I left the head on

 

 

 

Alan – Loved the lettuce cups – specifically the crunch from the water chestnuts and found the duck delightfully juicy

 

 

Sous Chef – Impressed with the overall flavor profile I was able to achieve in comparison to the restaurant but thought my duck carving skills could use some work

 

Although the food came out great my favorite part of the night had to have been the fortune cookies – definitely a must for any Chinese themed dinner party! I failed to let my guests know that I had opted for the adult version and needless to say their faces were priceless.

Chinese food, fortune cookies, four bottles of wine, and a few laughs later we were ready to call it a night. Next stop India….