How to finish hotpot food Part I: Lettuce wrap

Last Tuesday, on my suggestion, my lab held a hotpot party at my supervisor's house. Hotpot, aka Chinese Fondue and *very* similar to Japan's shabu shabu, is a dinner party activity where everyone cooks their own food 1 piece at a time while socializing with people around the table. It consists of everyone sitting around a table-top stove, on which sits a boiling pot of soup. Various raw/cold items are strew around the table and guests can throw in whatever food they want to eat. For seasoning, condiments are provided for the guests to mix their own for dipping in their own bowls. Basically it's a fondue with soup instead of oil/cheese/chocolate, and A LOT of food.


Since variety and customization is a must for a good hotpot, and you want to make sure there's enough of each food item for every guest, this means most likely you will have a crap load of food and a bit of everything left over. Back in the days, my housemate and I will usually just stand around the kitchen range and have mini 2-ppl hotpot for the rest of the week to finish all the leftovers. By the end of the week we'd swear we hate hotpot (which, of course, we forget about soon enough, but nonetheless...) but at least it only took a week and it was fun to stand around the stove and chat while we cooked and ate. Now that I live on my own, it'll take me twice as long to finish the food, but 1/2 as long to get sick of it. Thanks to the Food Channel (channel 41 on McD's TV, btw), I felt inspired to do something different with the food to keep it fun. This series documents all the different ways I thought of to finish the food. Creativity through necessity is the best way to cook =3

The first dish in this series is a lettuce wrap... because I had too much lettuce left over. Since I am the only Chinese in my lab (the other Asians in the picture being a Japanese and a Korean... and a 1/2 Chinese who doesn't look very Chinese, 2 of whom are +1s of lab members, so I wasn't even sure if they would come), I was worried that the rest of the gang wouldn't like the Asian-favoured veggies such as watercress and crown daisy. I believe green leafy veggies is important for making the meal less heavy, so I decided to buy more lettuce as the "safe option" to make sure everyone has enough veggies. Turns out my lab loved the watercress and crown daisy and I basically ended up with all the lettuce untouched, minus a few leaves. I also had a bit of thinly sliced chicken left over, which reminded me of tacos, for some reason, so lettuce wrap it is~

The good thing about lettuce wraps is that the stuffing is warm and comforting, while the refreshing raw lettuce balances out any greasiness. The stuffing is very flexible, so as long as you have lettuce left over and any kind of seasoning at home, you can use the concept to finish just about any hotpot leftovers. Admittedly, the celery and carrots weren't hotpot leftovers, but they add a nice texture and they were going bad in my fridge, so I added them. You can leave it out or substitute it for something else. It is also simple to make, with millions of possible variations, and a fun way to get your kids to eat veggies. Just remember to wash your veggies and your hands well!


Ingredients:

1. Chicken (thinly sliced in my case since it was hotpot leftovers)
2. Lettuce - whole leaf, preferably. Or halved widthwise. Just big enough to wrap
   
3. Carrots and celery (or anything else crunchy you have on hand) diced thinly
4. Cilantro
5. Red chili peppers (optional, I did use.)
   
6. Garlic - minced (optional, I don't think I used. Can't remember.)
7. Shallot - diced (optional, I didn't use.)
8. Toasted sesame (optional, I didn't use.)
   

Marinade:

1. Soy sauce
2. Wild Whiskey Smoked BBQ spice from Clubhouse
3. Lemon juice
   
4. Corn starch
5. Black pepper (optional, can't remember if I used.)
   
6. Sesame oil (optional, I don't think I used. Can't remember.)
   

Method:

1. Wash lettuce WELL. Dry and set aside.
2. Wash cilantro WELL. Dry, cut into small pieces, and set aside.
   
3. Put marinade ingredients in with chicken and mix well. No amounts, sorry. Don't be afraid if it ends up *slightly* saltier than normal. You'll be wrapping it up in unseasoned lettuce. Especially if you're using green leaf lettuce. They tend to be slightly bitter.
4. Heat a pan/wok over medium-high heat.
   
5. Add a tablespoon or so cooking oil to pan and wait for it to heat up enough that if you place a chopstick/spatula into the oil it would bubble.
6. Stir fry garlic/shallot/chili peppers until fragrant if you're using them. If not, move on to next step.
7. Stir fry chicken until cooked. Plate it.
8. Without washing the pan/wok, quickly stir fry the celery/carrot/crunchy things then turn off the heat. It doesn't have to be fully cooked: we want it to maintain the crunchiness. LIGHTLY salt if desired. You might want to taste test how salty the chicken is before deciding.
9. Put a spoonful of chicken, a spoonful of crunchy things, and a few leaves of cilantro in a lettuce leave, wrap it up, and enjoy =) Add toasted sesame to the mix if you like.