NOTE: Appetizers need not be boring or predictable, and these wonderful little “boats” of endive lettuce, which I personally concocted, are stuffed with spicy sesame sauce and are excellent for a party. You know how chicken wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves is a big rage in Asian restaurants? Well, this is my hors d’oeuvre rendition of that, and they are incredible, spicy, and very different. This is the kind of thing you can make up for a party a couple of hours in advance, and store them in the refrigerator until the party starts. This recipe yields two to three dozen (24-30) individual pieces.
Ingredients:
– 3 tablespoons Organic Peanut Butter
– 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
– 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
– 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
– 3 tablespoons Vegetable Broth (use Vegetable Bouillon cubes to make the broth)
– 1 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
– 2 - 3 tablespoons Chinese Hot Chili Oil
– 1 tablespoon Whole Sesame Seeds
– 4 cups of cooked, “shredded” skinless Chicken Breast Meat (about 3 – 4 breasts)
– 5 to 6 heads of Endive Lettuce
– 3 to 4 stalks of Green Onions, carefully chopped
NOTE ON ENDIVE: If you have never used or heard of endive (or Belgian endive), it is in nearly every grocery store. It is that “flower bud” looking head of lettuce about six inches long, and it is light green or yellow-green at the edges and white towards the center rib of the leaves. Cut apart from the inner stem, they form perfect little “row boat” shaped leaves that are perfect for stuffing and eating by hand.
Directions:
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees, and place the skinless boneless chicken breasts on a baking sheet, or heat resistant baking pan, and drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil on the chicken breasts so they don’t burn on top, or stick on the bottom. Bake them for 45 minutes to an hour.
While the chicken is baking, cut a quarter inch off the bottom of the endive heads, and place the exposed stem ends into a bowl or other vessel filled with water. Like any other cut plant, it will begin to absorb water like a flower bud would. This will give you crispier endive leaves when you stuff them.
When the chicken breasts are thoroughly cooked in the middle, remove them from the oven and let them cool off. When they are cool enough to handle, cut the meat in two inch strips, and with your hands, shred the chicken, following the grain of the meat. You want to shred the meat in strands.
In a saucepan, combine all of the seven wet ingredients: the organic peanut butter, Hoisin sauce, hot chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable bullion, rice vinegar, along with the sesame seeds.
Over medium heat, continue stirring the ingredients until the oil and liquid ingredients meld together, and the peanut butter melts. This should take about three minutes.
NOTE: Do not use a processed peanut butter, it will not melt properly. Use the kind of peanut butter that contains nothing but peanuts. You can spot it by the top coating of peanut oil that has separated from the ground peanuts in the jar.
In a large mixing bowl, pour the sauce on top of the shredded chicken breasts, and mix together, until all of the meat is coated with the sauce. After you are finished mixing it, put it in the refrigerator while you deal with the endive leaves.
One by one take the endive heads out of the water, and cut enough of the stem bottom off of the bud so that the individual leaves come off the bud without having to tear them loose. What you will have is a nicely shaped “boat” to fill with chicken. As you go up the stem, freeing more leaves as you slice off more of the stem end of the endive, you will notice that the leaves are getting smaller. Not a problem, some people like big hors d’oeuvre’s and some like them bite-sized, so you can have a variation of sizes, depending on the leaf size.
Before you start stuffing the leaves, you need how to decide ahead of time what plate or container you want to have your hors d’oeuvre’s displayed upon, and start arranging the unstuffed leaves onto that plate to make sure they are going to stand up properly on the plate. This will give you an idea of where they are going when you get them stuffed, and help you to arrange them for a dramatic display. And, let’s face it: “drama” is everything with appetizers. You want people to walk over to them and say: “What are these? I have to try one!”
To fill the endive leaves, use a fork for best uniformity and control. You want to stuff the leaves, but not overstuff them. When you get an entire plateful of these little sesame chicken stuffed endive boats, garnish them with neatly chopped green onion pieces. If you want you can also sprinkle additional sesame seeds on top of each one.
After you fill your serving plate—or plates, cover them with cellophane wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
These have been a hit every time I have made them, and they have a nice spicy hot chili oil kick to them that will make everyone want to come back for more. Now go and mix your first cocktail, and let’s get this party started!
– 3 tablespoons Organic Peanut Butter
– 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
– 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
– 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
– 3 tablespoons Vegetable Broth (use Vegetable Bouillon cubes to make the broth)
– 1 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
– 2 - 3 tablespoons Chinese Hot Chili Oil
– 1 tablespoon Whole Sesame Seeds
– 4 cups of cooked, “shredded” skinless Chicken Breast Meat (about 3 – 4 breasts)
– 5 to 6 heads of Endive Lettuce
– 3 to 4 stalks of Green Onions, carefully chopped
NOTE ON ENDIVE: If you have never used or heard of endive (or Belgian endive), it is in nearly every grocery store. It is that “flower bud” looking head of lettuce about six inches long, and it is light green or yellow-green at the edges and white towards the center rib of the leaves. Cut apart from the inner stem, they form perfect little “row boat” shaped leaves that are perfect for stuffing and eating by hand.
Directions:
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees, and place the skinless boneless chicken breasts on a baking sheet, or heat resistant baking pan, and drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil on the chicken breasts so they don’t burn on top, or stick on the bottom. Bake them for 45 minutes to an hour.
While the chicken is baking, cut a quarter inch off the bottom of the endive heads, and place the exposed stem ends into a bowl or other vessel filled with water. Like any other cut plant, it will begin to absorb water like a flower bud would. This will give you crispier endive leaves when you stuff them.
When the chicken breasts are thoroughly cooked in the middle, remove them from the oven and let them cool off. When they are cool enough to handle, cut the meat in two inch strips, and with your hands, shred the chicken, following the grain of the meat. You want to shred the meat in strands.
In a saucepan, combine all of the seven wet ingredients: the organic peanut butter, Hoisin sauce, hot chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable bullion, rice vinegar, along with the sesame seeds.
Over medium heat, continue stirring the ingredients until the oil and liquid ingredients meld together, and the peanut butter melts. This should take about three minutes.
NOTE: Do not use a processed peanut butter, it will not melt properly. Use the kind of peanut butter that contains nothing but peanuts. You can spot it by the top coating of peanut oil that has separated from the ground peanuts in the jar.
In a large mixing bowl, pour the sauce on top of the shredded chicken breasts, and mix together, until all of the meat is coated with the sauce. After you are finished mixing it, put it in the refrigerator while you deal with the endive leaves.
One by one take the endive heads out of the water, and cut enough of the stem bottom off of the bud so that the individual leaves come off the bud without having to tear them loose. What you will have is a nicely shaped “boat” to fill with chicken. As you go up the stem, freeing more leaves as you slice off more of the stem end of the endive, you will notice that the leaves are getting smaller. Not a problem, some people like big hors d’oeuvre’s and some like them bite-sized, so you can have a variation of sizes, depending on the leaf size.
Before you start stuffing the leaves, you need how to decide ahead of time what plate or container you want to have your hors d’oeuvre’s displayed upon, and start arranging the unstuffed leaves onto that plate to make sure they are going to stand up properly on the plate. This will give you an idea of where they are going when you get them stuffed, and help you to arrange them for a dramatic display. And, let’s face it: “drama” is everything with appetizers. You want people to walk over to them and say: “What are these? I have to try one!”
To fill the endive leaves, use a fork for best uniformity and control. You want to stuff the leaves, but not overstuff them. When you get an entire plateful of these little sesame chicken stuffed endive boats, garnish them with neatly chopped green onion pieces. If you want you can also sprinkle additional sesame seeds on top of each one.
After you fill your serving plate—or plates, cover them with cellophane wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
These have been a hit every time I have made them, and they have a nice spicy hot chili oil kick to them that will make everyone want to come back for more. Now go and mix your first cocktail, and let’s get this party started!