~ Minced squab with lettuce cups Recipe ~

 
                       MINCED SQUAB WITH LETTUCE CUPS
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 2    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Poultry                          Oriental
                 Main dish                        Appetizers
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    2                    Squabs, 1 lb each
    2       tb           Peanut oil
    2                    Garlic cloves -- minced
   10                    Fresh water chestnuts
                         - peeled and minced
      1/2   c            Minced bamboo shoots
    6                    Chinese black mushrooms
                         - soaked, squeezed dry
                         -  and minced
    4                    Scallions -- minced
    6                    Dried oysters (optional)
                         -soaked, squeezed dry
                         - and minced   OR
    4                    -duck liver sausages, minced
      1/2   ts           Minced fresh ginger root
      1/2   c            Chicken broth
                         - reduced with squab bones
    1       t            Sugar
    2       tb           Light soy sauce
    2       tb           Chinese rice wine
                         -or dry sherry
    1       tb           Oyster sauce
    1       t            Cornstarch -- dissolved in
    1       tb           Chicken broth -- (cold)
    2                    Heads bibb lettuce
                         -(or iceberg lettuce)
                         -leaves carefully separated
                         -into lettuce cups
 
   This is frequently served at special occasions in Chinese restaurants.
   Presented as an appetizer, it will serve 6.
   
   USING A THIN CLEAVER, cut away the wings and thigh joints and pull off the
   skin, cutting it where necessary. Set the skin aside. Bone the breasts.
   Scrape all the meat you can from the bone. Neatness does not count! To
   remove the leg meat, make a slit the length of the leg to the bone. Pull
   the meat away, cutting it off the bone where necessary. Remove the small
   but tough tendon from each leg. Bone the second squab, then add the bones,
   feet, heads and wings to 1 cup chicken broth and reduce the liquid to 1/2
   cup. With 2 cleavers, start chopping the meat, until finely minced. Set
   aside. Thinly slice the squab skin. Stir-fry the skin in a little oil to
   render the fat and crisp the skin. This takes about 10 minutes. As the skin
   browns, move it up the side of the wok. Set the crisped skin aside. The
   preceding steps can be done up to 8 hours in advance. Keep the minced squab
   refrigerated if it must stand longer than 1 hour. Stir-fry the squab in the
   oil with the garlic over high heat until is is browned lightly. Add the
   remaining minced ingredients, mix them well and add the reduced chicken
   broth, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry and oyster sauce. Bring the
   mixture to a boil and stir in the cornstarch dissolved in broth. Stir in
   the crisped skin and transfer the mixture to a serving plate. Serve the
   dish surrounded by lettuce cups. Each diner wraps some of the squab mixture
   in a lettuce cup.
  
 
 
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