Many Chinese banquets open with a crowd-pleasing appetizer sometimes known as chicken tumble in lettuce leaves. Diners spoon savory stir-fried chicken into crisp cool lettuce leaves with a dollop of sweet, spicy sauce.
It’s easy to make a simplified version of this appetizer classic with Jade Mekong Ginger Sauce. Stir-fry ground chicken or turkey until crumbly, then add crunchy water chestnuts and the zesty ginger sauce. Instead of using traditional iceberg lettuce, spoon the mixture into Belgian endive leaves. The slight bitterness in the endive leaves pleasantly contrasts with the spicy sweet-tang of the chicken mixture in a sophisticated east-west balance. The slim sturdy Belgian endive leaves also cradle the filling neatly. Best of all, these flavorful appetizers are relatively low in fat.
Chinese Ginger Chicken in Belgian Endive Leaves
Most Belgian endive have pale green leaves but some may be purplish-red which lend a holiday color to these appetizers. You can substitute 1 cup peeled and chopped jicama for the water chestnuts. The tan-skinned bulbous jicama root has a sweet, crunchy white flesh similar to water chestnuts.
Makes about 4 dozen, 12 to 16 appetizer servings
5 to 6 large heads Belgian endive
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, and chopped
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup JADE Mekong Ginger Sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Rinse endive and trim off root ends. Separate leaves.
2. Set a nonstick 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add oil and rotate pan to spread oil. Crumble turkey into pan and stir until meat is crumbly and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add water chestnuts, green onion, and JADE Mekong Ginger Sauce. Stir until hot, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
3. Fill each endive leaf with the turkey mixture and arrange on a platter. Serve warm or cool.
Or for more casual service: Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and surround with endive leaves on a platter. Diners spoon the hot mixture into endive leaves to eat.
