Minced Pork and Lettuce Parcels - AKA Yuk Sung

Chinese food is amazing and Yuk Sung is possibly my favourite starter.  I tried a South Korean version on my travels last year and was blown away.  Shame I didn't get the recipe though.  This version is adapted from two different recipes I've used over the years and the kids have always enjoyed making their own parcels and own mess.  I think they forget they're eating lettuce!  Sometimes I use baby gem lettuce rather than iceberg just to bring a different flavour.

Ingredients

1 pack of minced pork

Chestnut mushrooms, about 6 - 8 chopped or you can use dried mushrooms and rehydrate them by soaking in boiling water for about 30 minutes

1 tin of water chestnuts, chopped

1 tin of bamboo shoots, chopped

A bunch of spring onions, chopped at a jaunty angle

1 tbsp oil, ideally groundnut but sunflower oil will do nicely Sir

2 teasp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

Grated ginger and bashed garlic (optional)

A glug of dry sherry or rice wine

Lettuce leaves that become the 'wrap' 

Thin dried rice noodles and sunflower oil to fry them in. 

Method

Into a bowl add the pork, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, half of the spring onions, the sesame oil, the soy sauce, and the ginger and garlic if you choose to use them and finally the rice wine or sherry.  Leave it to 'brew' for half an hour if you have time.  

Next add the oil to a pan using a high heat, add the ingredients from the bowl and stir fry until cooked adding the oyster sauce for the last couple of minutes. Set aside, off the heat and move onto the crispy rice noodles which give a great crunch to the supper. 

Once the noodles and the pork are cooked arrange the noodles around the edges of a large serving dish, place the pork into the middle and sprinkle with the remaining spring onions.  Serve with the lettuce bowls and extra soy for those like my Hubby who loves it.  Napkins at the ready! 

The Noodles

I find the the key to making crispy noodles is having the oil hot enough or you end up with a soggy mess.  Be sure to test it's hot enough before adding the noodles to the hot oil.  When the oil is hot, the tester noodles will 'bloom' within seconds into puffy, crispy noodles. So, gently drop handfuls of noodles in the hot oil. Have a large slotted spoon at the ready to quickly flip them once, then remove. The actual cooking time is only a few seconds. Set puffed noodles to drain on paper towels. Continue frying the rest of your noodles, reducing heat as you do so to a medium heat.