Thai Lettuce Wraps

For one of my best friend's, Maxine's, 24th birthday - we had a big birthday feast at my apartment and one of the main dishes were these 'assemble-your-own' Thai lettuce wraps. My first experience with lettuce wraps was in 2005 at the Cheesecake Factory. I'd say that the lettuce wraps are on par with the cheesecake at this chain. Crisp cold wedges of iceberg lettuce holding a warm tofu or chicken mixture and an assortment of freshly grated vegetables. These are also a healthy and delicious party food that is easy to prepare - the majority of the work is in prepping all the ingredients. Thai lettuce wraps should be served with an assortment of sauces. We hat a sweet and sour peach chili sauce, a hot chili sauce and a smoky Thai peanut sauce. Here is the birthday girl with her lettuce wrap:

Thai Lettuce Wraps
(Serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 head of iceberg lettuce
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 thumb-size pieces of ginger, minced
2 red chilis minced
1 cup firm tofu, sliced into matchsticks
1 cup cooked chicken
2 carrots, grated
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 eggs
1 cup shredded red cabbage
6 green onions, sliced into matchsticks
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Canola oil

Toppings:
1 bunch of Thai basil, thinly sliced
1 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions:
1. Pour oil into a wok over medium high heat. Add garlic, ginger and chili. Stir-fry for one minute until fragrant.
2. Add the chicken, carrots, cabbage and green onions. As you stir fry add the lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce. Add in the tofu, toss to coat with the sauces and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
3. Push the ingredients to the side of the wok and crack the eggs into the wok. Stir-fry quickly to break the yolk. Mix in with the other ingredients.
4. Remove from heat and do a taste test. This is one of the most important parts about preparing stir-fry. If it is too salty add in additional ingredients to absorb the sauce, if it needs more punch - add in a little more lime or fish sauce.
5. Cut off the stem part of the iceberg lettuce and separate the leaves.
6. Place leaves on a dish, stir-fry filling in a separate dish, sauces in small bowls, and any additional toppings on a plate (i.e. sliced cucumbers, bean sprouts, basil, crushed peanuts, lime wedges). Enjoy!

Ka Chi & Mushroom Medley

One sunny Sunday in June my mom and I went to the San Francisco Free Folk Festival at Presidio Middle School. This progressive school has hallways covered with thought provoking and inspirational posters and quotes. It's uplifting to be a space like this - doesn't it seem that our offices and work place should be similarly decorated? I feel that we would all benefit tremendously to look up and see posters of outer space explorations, quotes from Martin Luther King, hand drawn book covers. Aside from the welcoming halls of this Middle School - every other classroom had musicians jamming inside. There was the peaceful Irish Jam Room with fiddlers, violinists and flutists taking you over the rolling green hills of Irish countryside. There were old men and women teaching Contra dancing in one room. An all women's a capella group taking you back to their rowdy nights in the 60's with funny lyrics and saucy moves. But, our favorite performance was Ka Chi, an impressive artist and musician performing in the auditorium. His music is a mixture of Acoustic/Indie/Neo-Soul but he is so much more than these categories....His voice is incredibly soothing and natural. His lyrics are so moving they make your heart calm and your soul come alive...

After being taken to that alternate reality that only live music can take you - we went to the wonderful market on 22nd Avenue and Irving for cheap and fresh produce. Mushrooms were on sale so we bought oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, shitaki mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, some bok choy and tofu. Back at my apartment I whipped up this soothing mushroom medley. Not as wonderful as Ka Chi's music. But on a Sunday evening, as the fog rolls in - this warm meal tasted perfect.

Mushroom Medley
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 small bunch Oyster mushrooms
1 small bunch Button mushrooms
1 small bunch Enoki mushrooms
1 small bunch Shitaki mushrooms
1 cup tofu, cut into small rectangle cubes
1 bunch Bok choy
2 servings Quinoa
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon ginger sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Olive oil
Garlic powder

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the box.
2. Pour some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, add the minced garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add the tofu rectangles. Drizzle a dash of fish sauce and oyster sauce on the tofu and cook until the edges are brown and the tofu has a nice golden tan. This makes the outside nice and textured! Set aside.

3. Add the mushrooms to the pan, pour the remaining sauces over the mushrooms and saute until they are all coated evenly and soften - about 5-7 minutes. Add the bok choy and saute for just 1-2 minutes more until it softens but does not become overly limp.
4. Turn the heat to low and add in the tofu, sprinkle the garlic powder and sesame seeds over your dish and gently toss to incorporate the sesame seeds. Serve in bowls over a bed of quinoa.

Restaurant Review: Plant - Best Veggie Burger Ever

 One recent sunny Saturday I met my Aunt Sue at the healthy, organic and inviting restaurant/cafe, Plant, on the Embarcadero. This place is most well known for its fresh fruit and vegetable juices however the array of filling feel-good happy foods on its menu should not be overlooked. We started with a delicious salad (pictured above) made with wile arugula, grapefruit wedges, avocado, shaved fennel and a creamy black pepper - m macadamia nut dressing. It had the richness of cheese, but it was completely vegan. The ingredients were crisp and fresh tasting. As a main course I had the superb, and trademarked (I'm not kidding), PLANT BURGER:

It's a house-made veggie burger made from lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews and bulgar wheat. The Plant Burger is served with roasted onion, lettuce, tomato relish, aioli and a generous side of mixed greens. Unlike most veggie burgers, it was not dense and dry but rather moist and textured like a real beef burger. Served on whole grain bread, this is truly a happy and healthy lunch. In addition to the salad and burger above we shared the salad pictured below with roasted red beets, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. 

I highly recommend a lunch at this restaurant. You can sit along the water and have lovely teas and juices as you wait for a thoughtfully prepared and delivered meal with local ingredients. Reservations are recommended. 

The Plant Cafe & Restaurant

Pier 3, The Embarcadero

San Francisco, California

415 984 1973