Best Chinese Leaf Pork Wraps Recipes

ASIAN PORK LETTUCE WRAPS

Steps:

• Heat grill to medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Drizzle pork with olive oil and grill for 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked. Allow the pork to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes before slicing.
• While the pork is cooking make the sauce. Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce to a large skillet or pan. Cook over low heat until heated through.
• Cube the cooked pork into bite sized pieces.
• Toss the cubed pork into the sauce.
• Serve immediately over bib lettuce with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

STICKY RICE WRAPPED IN BAMBOO LEAVES (JOONG OR ZHONGZI)

Steps:

• Start the day before you want to make the dumplings!
• Soak rice, mung beans and bamboo leaves in separate containers overnight. Place a bowl or plate over the bamboo leaves to keep them submerged.
• Combine 2 tsp salt, black pepper, 1 clove garlic, rice wine, water, rock sugar, cinnamon, white pepper, cloves, coriander, fennel, fenugreek and 2 tbsp canola oil in bowl. Stir in cubed pork, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, drain rice and set aside.
• In a wok, heat remaining canola oil and stirfry remaining garlic, carrot, onion and ginger until slightly softened. Add chicken broth, 1 tsp salt, and fish sauce and stir well. Strain any excess marinade from pork and add to wok, (return Pork to fridge) and heat until bubbling. Add drained rice and stir frequently until liquid is absorbed. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, transfer bamboo leaves to large pot of boiling water and simmer 30 minutes to soften and sterilize. (Vinegar can be added here to soften them further.) Wipe each leaf with a sponge or scrubbing pad under cool running water to remove any remaining soil. You can trim off the stems with scissors.
• Drain mung beans and add white sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
• Prepare 25 or so 4' lengths of string. I tied groups of 5 together at one end, with a loop to hang from a hook on my cabinet. Then as I tie up my dumplings, they are hanging from the string and I can put them in and take them out of pots in groups of 5.
• Lay out your wrapping materials: softened bamboo leaves, rice mixture, mung beans and pork. You may want to keep the bowl of marinated pork in a larger bowl full of ice to keep it cold while you wrap.
• Take 2 bamboo leaves, overlapping along their long sides about half-way, and form a cone (see videos). Pat in about 2 tbsp rice mixture, then 1/2 tbsp mung beans, then 2 or 3 pieces of pork, another 1/2 - 1 tbsp mung beans, then cover with another 2 or 3 tbsp of rice mixture. You may need to add a third bamboo leaf to extend the cone.
• Use the ends of the leaves to firmly compress the cone of ingredients, and roughly shape the open end into a square or rectangle. Closing the bamboo leaf is tricky. I held the cone with the leaf ends pointing away from me. I folded the near edge towards the middle, folded the ends towards me over that, and carefully folded each side towards the middle, ensuring that the corners were covered. I always oriented my leaves the same way, so one side was leaf ends and the other was stem ends. I aimed to get the leaf ends under the stem ends. Then wind string around it until it seems secure. Keep wrapping dumplings until the filling is all gone. As I said, the first one took about 20 minutes, and several tries before it looked like it would hold together. The first 5 or so were quite ugly! But then I got the hang of it.
• Heat a large pot or wok of salted water to boil. Place a few extra or ripped bamboo leaves in first, then some dumplings, then some more leaves. The water should just about cover the dumplings. I did 10 at a time in my wok and large pot. Bring back to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a good bubbling simmer for 2 hours, adding water about half-way through. They should be puffed slightly and feel firm but squishy when you squeeze them. Drain and rinse off with cool water.
• Allow to cool or eat some hot right away. Remainder will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, and they freeze well (up to 6 months in a good freezer, well-wrapped).

CHINESE LEAF PORK WRAPS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a wok and add the pork mince. Stir-fry over a high heat for 5 mins until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the garlic, ginger, mushrooms and spring onions to the wok. Stir-fry for 2-3 mins, then add the rice & peas. Stir-fry for 1 min, then add the egg and cook until the egg scrambles. Stir through the parsley, pork, soy and seasoning.
• Pile the rice and pork into Chinese leaves and serve with soy and sweet chilli sauce.

SPICY PORK LETTUCE WRAPS

Steps:

• For the scallion and carrot relish: Toss the soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, carrots, scallions and lime juice in a medium bowl. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• For the pork: Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and once hot, the pork. Cook the pork, breaking it up with the back of your spoon until it browns and is no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes, salt, garlic, ginger and shallots. Cook until they are aromatic and incorporated, another minute. Add the hoisin and stir to combine, then add the soy sauce. Cook until the pork is sticky and glazed, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a serving bowl.
• Serve the pork with the lettuce leaves, some scallion and carrot relish, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, peanuts and sriracha, letting everyone build their own wraps with all the fixings.

ASIAN PORK LETTUCE WRAPS

Steps:

• Combine the rice and 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until most of the water is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low; cover and continue cooking until all of the water is absorbed, about 12 more minutes. Uncover and transfer to a large bowl to cool slightly.
• Preheat a large grill pan or grill over medium heat and brush with oil. Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, the vegetable oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha and 1 teaspoon ginger in a bowl; rub all over the pork. Transfer the pork to the grill pan; cook about 8 minutes per side for medium doneness. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes; thinly slice.
• Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha and teaspoon ginger into the rice. Add the carrots, cucumber, lime juice and brown sugar and toss. Serve the rice and pork in the lettuce leaves; top with cilantro and drizzle with more Sriracha. Serve with lime wedges.

ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS

Steps:

• Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef and cooking oil in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease; transfer beef to a bowl. Cook and stir onion in the same skillet used for beef until slightly tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir hoisin sauce, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chile pepper sauce into onions. Add water chestnuts, green onions, sesame oil, and cooked beef; cook and stir until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
• Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter and pile meat mixture in the center.

VIETNAMESE PORK LETTUCE WRAPS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and salt until blended. Stir in carrots and onion; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., In a large skillet, cook pork, ginger and garlic over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until pork is no longer pink, breaking up pork into crumbles; drain. Stir in soy sauce, mirin, salt, pepper and, if desired, fish sauce., To serve, drain carrot mixture. Place pork mixture in lettuce leaves; top with cucumber, red pepper, green onions, carrot mixture and herbs. Sprinkle with jalapeno and peanuts; drizzle with hoisin sauce. Squeeze lime juice over tops. Fold lettuce over filling.