Recipe: Veggie lettuce wrap

Been trying to eat healthy of late so that means no desserts, no sugar in tea/coffee, no sodas or colas, cutting down on meat intake, next-to-no eating out on weekdays, consuming lots of fruits and vegetables, multiple refills of green tea and mugs and mugs of hot water!

Of late we've developed a great fondness for lettuce wraps, especially Thai and Vietnamese style. However, the new 'go healthy' lifestyle doesn't allow for frequent meals of minced pork/ beef albeit wrapped up in fresh, healthy, green leaves. So, last night I decided to make spicy veggie lettuce wraps and see how that works out.

It. Was. Good.

Without further ado, here's the recipe -

Ingredients
Lettuce leaves, duh!
Mushrooms
Bellpeppers - I used red and green
Baby corn
Onions or onion powder
Green and red chillies
Garlic
Tofu or paneer
Cumin powder (jeera powder)
Salt and pepper
Chui-chow chilli oil (hoisin sauce or even chilli sauce will do the trick) 
Olive oil
Soya sauce
Boiled rice

Prep
Finely chop the mushrooms, bellpeppers, onions (if using), green chillies and baby corn
Cut the garlic in long slices

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick karahi (wok) and add green chillies and garlic once the oil is hot
Saute on a medium flame till the garlic starts changing colour
Add the baby corn and let cook till the corn is slightly soft and breaks easily
Add the bell peppers and saute on a medium high flame
Add salt and chui chow chilli oil
Mix well till the vegetables are cooked but crunchy
Crumble the paneer in a separate bowl
Add in the mushrooms and paneer
Let cook and simmer till the water from the paneer and mushrooms almost dries out but don't let it get too dry. 

Once done, add a generous helping of soya sauce and top with some pepper
Mix well and take off heat
Peel the carrot into strips using a vegetable peeler

And the ingredients for your wrap are ready!!

Now, to make your wrap - on a lettuce leaf, spread some chui-chow chili oil, add rice and top with the vegetable mince. Wrap and go for it!

You can believe me when I say it was good because I didn't even have time to take quality pictures... (much to my dismay) Vishal insisted that I ditch the phone and focus on the food instead! :)

Do let me know if you made the wrap and if you liked it. You can add a whole lot more and substitute what you don't like. Just enjoy the cooking journey people! :)

Long weekend of breakfasts

Hong Kong celebrated the 'Tuen Ng' or Dragon Boat Festival yesterday and we got an extended weekend!

While I was looking forward to three days of pretty much doing nothing, catching up on reading and finishing chores, Vishal was faced with 15-hour work days throughout the holiday (!!). So when I got a phone call from him saying he was relatively free for the weekend, my boring plans went right out the window.

As it happened, our three days were pretty much defined by the breakfasts and brunches.In fact, we hardly ate much else besides!

As the husband wanted a slow lingering meal, Saturday was a 200 minute, boozy Spanish brunch at Boqueria. After which we walked along the streets of SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong trying to catch that elusive taxi, reached home and promptly crashed.

Sunday morning saw me trying my hand at the shakshouka after being inspired by a friend's picture on Instagram. Unbeknownst to me, my mom hand the same plans for her kitchen on her Sunday morning!

After mopping up all that tomato and egg goodness and comparing notes with my parents on their shakshouka experience, we were set for a night in Macau. After getting delayed due to the husband's urgent summons to office, we finally made it to the hotel by 4pm and were in the massage room by 5!

Breakfast on Sunday was all the goodness of American breakfasts which hotels do so well. Fruits and bircher muesli (the only reason I love hotel breakfasts!) followed with dumplings, bacon and omelette. Heaven!

 

Soon it was time to board the ferry and head home. The heaviness in my stomach was not due to the breakfast but the thought that the holiday is just about done. 

Come Tuesday, it was back to the routine - wake up, drink hot water, pack fruits and healthy snacks for husband and I, make green tea and refrigerate, do yoga, breathe breathe breathe, get ready, catch shuttle 1, catch shuttle 2, fly up the stairs and land on the seat in office! No time for a breakfast, leisurely or otherwise. Only a quick, silent thank you to the folks who thought up porridge-in-a-cup!

Have a great week you guys! Here's to more breakfasts on the go while we wait for the luxury of long weekends! :)