Eat My Charlotte
Rachel Ray -- I love to hate her. She's got that raspy smoker's voice, is annoyingly perky, and she's able to talk to herself for 30 minutes during her 30-Minute Meals show. Who DOES that? She can take that "evoo" and "Yum-o!" and shove it.
And although she seems all bubbly and friendly, I bet she's a total biotch off camera. Proof: Check out this video of the Amateur Gourmet, Adam Roberts, sitting next to Rachel at the Food Network Studios. She doesn't even look at him.
Anywho... she claims she's no chef, and that's true -- there's no culinary diploma hanging on her wall. Her recipes usually require sophisticated culinary techniques such as opening cans and stirring. But though I make fun of her, I do like some of her quickie dinner recipes. (Her burger recipes are always winners.) Here's a RR recipe that I found on the Food Network website that I'm planning to make next week.
Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
- Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional
- 1 orange, zested
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
- 1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market
- 1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered
- Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish
Directions
Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces.
Preheat a large skillet or wok to high.
Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.
