Minced "Pigeon" in Lettuce Cups (生菜鴿鬆)

This is one post I'm very excited about. I have flipped past this recipe many times while looking through Pei Mei's books, and had not given much thought until recently. It's called "Minced Pigeon," after all. After trying some excellent versions of it in the Bay Area recently, I decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did. I'd venture to say this is almost a perfect dish. It really has it all: three meats, four vegetables, mushrooms, and noodles, all wrapped up in crunchy lettuce leaves. It comes together terrifically, and this is one I'll certainly be making again.

Pei Mei's recipes are almost universally simple. They all fit on one page, with a maximum of about four steps. That being said, this one has a lot going on. As usual, I made some adjustments to the recipe. The main change is replacing the pigeon with chicken thighs (this substitution is in the original recipe). Another big one was reducing the amount of noodles by about half. She recommends using water chestnuts, with bamboo shoots as a substitute, but I went for a mix of both. The Chinese name, shengcai ge song, translates to "lettuce pigeon mince." For the last character, I had to consult dad and grandpa, but overall this was another straightforward translation.

The new exotic ingredients in this recipe are the thin rice noodles. These are often called "rice sticks." There seems to be some variance in the width of the noodles, and I went with the thinnest ones I could get. I haven't tried them in anything else, but my guess is they would work pretty well in soup or pan fried. It's worth mentioning the chicken liver as well, since I've only used them once before. I bought a tub of them, and only used 4. The rest become a fantastic pâté using Jacques Pepin's recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 oz. (approx.) thin rice noodles
• 1 lb. boneless chicken meat
• 3/4 lb. boneless pork shoulder
• 4 chicken livers
• 1 onion (about 1 1/2 cup diced)
• 8 dried black mushrooms
• 1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 8 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained and chopped
• 1 cup green peas
• Vegetable oil
• Iceberg lettuce leaves

Marinade

• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. sugar

Seasoning Sauce

• 2 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. chicken stock
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Instructions

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes. The mushrooms will float, so use something to weigh them down and keep them in the water. When done, discard the stems and dice the rest.

While the mushrooms soak, prepare the meat. Trim off excess fat from the chicken and pork, and mince into small pieces, about 1 cm. square. Mince the chicken livers and combine all three meats in a bowl. Add all marinade ingredients and set aside for about 10 minutes.

Heat a few inches of vegetable oil in a wok on high heat. Break up the noodles into chunks that will easily fit in the wok. Once the oil is very hot, carefully place the noodles in the oil. The noodles will immediately and dramatically puff up. Flip over to puff the other side, and set aside to cool. Do this for all the noodles. Allow the oil to cool a bit and transfer to a container. We will use the oil to stir fry the other ingredients later.

In batches, stir fry the marinated meat mixture on high heat until cooked through and browned. I did this in three batches. Set aside when done. Stir fry the diced onion for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. Mix all seasoning sauce ingredients in a bowl. Stir fry another minute or two, then add the meat, peas, and sauce. Stir together.

Crush the fried noodles into small pieces. Pour the meat and vegetable mixture over the crushed noodles to serve. Serve with the lettuce leaves, which can be used to wrap the mixture.

Chopped Liver

It's Passover, which means my house has been inundated with traditional Jewish foods. We've had matzo ball soup, braised brisket, gefilte fish, and now chopped liver. Chopped liver is one of those simple, delicious, and very satisfying foods that is perfect for the holidays. As with last year, the duty to make it falls upon me. The concept is certainly not alien to me, as it is pretty much just pâté. I also strongly support spreads of any kind that help spruce up the matzos, which I still believe are very much an acquired taste. There seems to be a reasonable consensus among recipes on the internet, and mine is based closely around this general formula. The proportion of egg is a little higher here than most, and that is a matter of taste, easily adjusted.

The exotic ingredient du jour is, of course, schmaltz, or rendered chicken fat. Until I first made chopped liver, this was not something I had ever worked with, but it is apparently a key ingredient of traditional Jewish cuisine. Last year, we were able to find it in a grocery store, but this time around we weren't so lucky. However, it's not difficult to make your own. It just takes some time.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup schmaltz (rendered chicken fat, see below)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb chicken livers, drained and rinsed
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• Sprig of fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Schmaltz

• Fat and skin trimmed from 4 chicken thighs (or equivalent)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

I'll start with making the schmaltz. If you have it canned, go ahead and skip this part. As it happens, 4 chicken thighs will provide you with just enough fat for the chopped liver, but of course, any fat and skin you can harvest from other parts of the bird is just fine. If you happen to be making matzo ball soup, or some similar dish, you have the perfect opportunity to trim fat. 

I removed all the skin, and cut the smaller deposits off the bottom and sides. Chop the skin up as finely as possible. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Put all the skin and fat into a nonstick pan on low heat. You can experiment with the heat a little -- I had it halfway between low and medium for a while, and then lowered it back when it got too hot. Once a little of the fat has started to melt out, add the diced onion.

Cook the fat for about 90 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent sticking and burning. Once the bits of onion and skin have browned and crisped, you are done. Remove these bits (known in Yiddish as gribenes), which apparently have their uses, as well. Measure out 1/4 cup of the rendered fat, and refrigerate the rest. I ended up with exactly 1/4 cup.

 

Heat up half (1/8 cup) of the schmaltz in a frying pan, on medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned. Season the livers with salt and pepper, then add to pan. Cook until just done, about 8-10 minutes. 

Transfer the liver, onions, and any juices into a food processor. Add the parsley and remaining schmaltz and pulse to desired smoothness. Remove shells from eggs, slice in half, and add these to the food processor. Pulse a few more times. Taste the chopped liver, and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a container and refrigerate, where the chopped liver will set and become more spreadable. Serve with matzos, toast, or crackers.