Korean Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps

I am feeling better, as the day progresses. I ventured out of my cave/house and went to the library and the bank. They were short trips, but made me realize that getting out of the house does wonders for how you feel sometimes. When we got home the boy became occupied with his Legos, and I decided that I needed to come up with a dinner plan.

I had marked several recipes in my latest issue of Cooking Light magazine, so I started there. Bingo! Right away, I found this recipe that I had tabbed to try out. I had everything on hand, except for the kimchi (which is a fermented, spicy, jarred Korean cabbage concoction that is used as a condiment) and the green onions. Normally, I try not to make a special trip for an ingredient I don't have...but this recipe intrigues me. Now that I have in my mind that I want to try it, nothing else will suffice. The kimchi proved harder to find than expected. I called several grocery stores and none of them carried it. Finally, I called one of my favorite gourmet shops, AJ's Fine Foods. They are pricey on a lot of their stuff, but some things are still reasonable. The best part is they always have hard to find items. Sure enough, they carry kimchi all the time, and it is not expensive. Since the husband loves running errands for me, I called and asked him to pick some up. What can I say, he is good to me!

This looks like it comes together quickly, so I think it is going to be pretty easy. There is one review on the website, and it warns to get all your prep work and ingredients together first...before you start cooking. That makes perfect sense, since stir fry is a very quick cooking method and you really don't have time to prep as you go. The reviewer was very happy with this dish, so that gives me hope that it is good. I will let you know the results later.

Korean Sesame Beef Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
3/4 pound flank steak, trimmed
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
4 cups hot cooked short-grain rice
1 cup kimchi
16 red leaf lettuce leaves


Directions:
1. Cut steak across grain into 1/4-inch slices; cut slices into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut strips into 3-inch-long pieces. Combine steak pieces, 1/4 cup onions, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil.
2. Heat a 14-inch wok over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to wok, swirling to coat. Add half of steak mixture to wok; stir-fry 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon cooked steak mixture into a bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil and remaining steak mixture. Sprinkle with remaining onions and sesame seeds. Spoon 1/4 cup rice, about 2 tablespoons steak mixture, and 1 tablespoon kimchi onto each lettuce leaf; roll up. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 4 filled lettuce leaves)

CALORIES 498 (27% from fat); FAT 14.8g (sat 2.7g,mono 6.8g,poly 3.3g); IRON 8.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 28mg; CALCIUM 88mg; CARBOHYDRATE 62.2g; SODIUM 581mg; PROTEIN 25.2g; FIBER 3.2g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2008

Jen's Notes:
I only have two real changes that I am going to substitute on this dish. First, I don't have red lettuce...so I will use butter lettuce instead. Then, the recipe calls for short grained rice. I have medium and long grain rice, but not any short grain. I think I will use the medium grain or I do have some brown rice that I could also use. I think I will wait and see whatever floats my boat when I start making dinner (for the rice choice, at least).