Hoisin & Sesame Lettuce Cups
Cook time:
15 mins
Total time:
15 mins
Yield: 24 lettuce cups
Recipe Notes
These come together in about 15 minutes if you've got the Lentil-Walnut Mix Base made ahead!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed
- 1 medium-large onion, cut into small dice
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (can also substitute ketchup)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, dark or light
- 4 teaspoons each: rice wine vinegar and sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
- 1/2 recipe Lentil-Walnut Mix Base (1/2 recipe is about 4 - 4 1/2 cups)
- 2 heads butter lettuce, separated into leaves
- 1 lime, cut into quarters
- 1/4 cup each: sliced scallions or chopped cilantro and chopped roasted, salted peanuts
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Mix hoisin, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, pepper flakes and 1/4 cup of water; cook until mixture thickens and darkens in color, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in Lentil-Walnut Mix; cook to heat through a couple of minutes longer. Serve, letting each person spoon the mixture into the lettuce cups, topping with a squeeze of lime juice, hot sauce (like sriracha) and a sprinkling of scallions and peanuts.
Lentil-Walnut Mix Base
Prep time:
4 hrs
Cook time:
15 mins
Yield: 3 pounds (about 9 cups)
Recipe Notes
You can toast the walnuts one of two ways. You can toast them in the oven (a toaster oven is ideal for small quantities of nuts) at 325 degrees until fragrant and slightly darker in color, about 10 minutes. If you watch them carefully, you can also toast them stovetop in a large skillet over low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly darker in color, 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t be tempted to increase the heat—you’ll be sorry!You can chop the walnuts in the food processor-just pulse in short bursts until they are finely chopped, but not ground.
Ingredients
- 1 pound regular brown lentils
- Salt
- 3 cups walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
Instructions
- Soak lentils in 6 cups of cold water and 1 tablespoon of salt for 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Drain lentils and turn them into a large (12-inch) skillet with 1 cup of water. Cover and bring to full boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high and continue to cook, covered, until water has mostly evaporated and lentils are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, a minute or so longer.
- Mix lentils and walnuts and proceed with any Lentil-Walnut Mix Jumpstart recipes. Can be refrigerated up to a week or frozen for a couple of months.
