Birthday Dinner

For my birthday I got to make whatever I wanted. I chose to try a couple of Asian recipes.

Egg Drop Soup
From tasty kitchen

2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 whole egg, beaten slightly
1 dash black pepper
1 dash soy sauce (or more to taste)

1. Bring the broth to a boil. In a small cup, combine the cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of the heated broth and whish to combine. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the broth and boil for a minute or two to thicken the broth. Turn off the heat. Pour in the egg in a thin stream while stiring slowly in one direction. Do not over stir or the egg will break into tiny bits instead of making ribbons. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes before ladling into soup bowls. Season with soy sauce and black pepper to taste. You can also add thinly sliced green onions for garnish.

Makes 2 servings.

Boiling broth.

The finished product: simple and good. This is super fast and quite yummy. It might become one of my go-to meals when I need something fast.

Lettuce Wraps

from tasty kitchen

2 Tbsp oil

1 whole onion, medium

2 whole garlic cloves, minced

1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

4 tsp rice vinegar

4 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 head Iceberg lettuce, quartered at the core, core removed, leaved separated and torn into approximately 4-inch cups

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and water chestnuts; saute until onions soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add turkey; continue to cook, stirring frequently, until meat loses its raw color and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, oil, pepper flakes, and sugar. Add to the turkey; continue to cook until mixture has thickened to the texture of thick sloppy joes.
3. When ready to serve, warm turkey mixture. Lay out lettuce cups on a serving tray. Fill each with 2 Tbsp of filling, then garnish with scallions and peanuts. Serve.

Makes 24 servings.

The turkey and vegetables sauteing. I forgot to cut up the water chestnuts before adding them to the mix. Oops! It wasn't a disaster but did result in some tedious work and lost time.

Sauce mixture.

Cooking down.

Cooked down. It's smells pretty good.

The finished product: solidly good. These aren't P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps so if that's what you're expecting, you'll be disappointed. These are still very good, though. They are tangy and slightly spicy. I'd recommend them.