Pot-Sticker Lettuce Wraps

I've got another yummy one for ya.  The recipe came out of a Rachael Ray cookbook that I've had since before the kids existed.  I've made it lots of times, several different ways.  It's originally supposed to be patties, that you wrap up in tortillas.  They're really yummy that way, but I decided to try it as just loose meat once and liked it that way too.

The Girl has been asking for lettuce wraps since the last time I made them.  So I figured I'd give this a go as the filling.  When I told her what I was making for dinner she yelled, YAY, and then proceeded to hug me and say, thank you Mommy.  COMPLETELY out of character, so clearly she was excited.

The Kid doesn't do lettuce, so he got a flour tortilla to put his goodies in.  Both ways are yummy.

Here's the recipe with my notes:

Pot-Sticker Pockets

1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1/2 C chopped water chestnuts
2 green onions, chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
A pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 orange, grated zest and juice (I used the zest from a whole orange this time)
8 large flour tortillas
Hoisin sauce
Bibb lettuce leaves, shredded (or left whole if you're doing the lettuce wraps)
(P.S.  I'm convinced Bibb lettuce doesn't exist.  I've looked for it in every store in Portland for years and have never come across it.  I just used green leaf lettuce.)

Topping:

2 tsp honey
1/4 C white vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 cucumber, seeded and peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, shredded

Combine pork and next 7 ingredients in a bowl.  

Form into patties and cook for 5 minutes on each side on grill pan or outdoor grill over medium-high heat or hot coals.  

As burgers cook, baste with hoisin sauce.

Alternately, once all your ingredients are combined, brown your meat up in a large saute pan until cooked through.

Mix honey and vinegar and coat cuke and carrot in the dressing.  

(My cucumber was mushy, grrr, so I grated up some extra carrots.)  

Wash and dry your lettuce and thinly slice.

Heat tortillas.

To assemble, paint tortilla with hoisin.  Place a palmful of lettuce in the center of tortilla.  Top with a couple scoops of the carrot and cucumber mixture and 1 pork pattie.  Wrap tortilla up and over on all 4 sides and flip entire square-shaped packet over.  Cut in half from corner to corner, forming two pockets.

Or, do like we did and wrap everyone up in a lettuce leaf.

We had ours with steamed white rice and homemade sweet chili sauce.  

Yum yum.

Here's dinner on my plate: