ASIAN SLOPPY JOES

I happened to come across this recipe in the paper the other day. It's an adaptation of Ming Tsai's recipe. It is really good..a little spicy and the hoisin sauce gives it a little sweetness. I've tweaked this recipe a bit with the addition of oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Ming Tsai recommends serving this with brown-rice chips and pickles. Beverage suggestion is a Pilsner style beer.




Asian Soppy Joes
serves 6-8

1 large red onion small diced (about 21/2C)
3 or 4 celery ribs small diced (about 1 C)
6-7 cloves garlic minced (about 2 Tbs)
2" piece fresh ginger root minced
11/2Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/2-1tsp hot chili sauce such as Sambal Oelek (optional)
1/2-1C hoisin sauce
3/4lb ground beef
3/4lb ground pork
8oz fresh or canned roma tomatoes
1 lime
lettuce leaves
4 hamburger buns

Dice the onions to yield about 21/2C, dice celery to yield about 1 C. Mince garlic and ginger. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil to coat the bottom, once oil is hot add the onions, celery garlic,ginger and chili sauce if using. Cook for about 2 minutes stirring until the vegetables have started to soften. Add the hoisin sauce and at this point I added 2Tbs soy sauce and 2-3Tbs oyster sauce cook for another minute, stirring. Add the beef and pork stirring often to break up the meat. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. While meat is cooking, coarsely chop the tomatoes, reserving their juices. Cut the lime in half. Shred the lettuce leaves for serving.
Add the tomatoes and their juices to the skillet, the squeeze in the juice of the lime. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook uncovered for about 15 minutes or until all of the liquid evaporates, stir occasionally. While the sloppy joe mixture is cooking toast the buns.
To plate, place the bottom of the bun on each plate and place a generous portion of the sloppy joe mixture on each bun, place the shredded lettuce on top and add the top bun. Serve hot.
Any left overs can be frozen.