Asian Wraps — The Table That Holds Us Together

School started. The Anchorage School District back in session, the buses on the streets at seven, the city pivoting from summer mode. I love this week every year. The light is shifting. The kitchen is reopening. The body wants stew. The body wants soup.

I made nilaga — beef soup, simple, bone-in beef shank simmered for three hours with onion and corn and cabbage and bok choy, the broth that builds itself out of patience. Nilaga is what you make when the soul is asking for something quiet.

Mia started preschool — well, daycare-preschool, three days a week. Angela cried at drop-off. Mia did not. Mia walked into the room and went straight to the block area and did not look back. Angela called me from the parking lot. "She didn't even look at me, Grace. She just went." I said, "That's good, Anjie. That's the goal." Angela said, "I know. It still hurts." I said, "I know it does." We stayed on the phone for twenty minutes — the parent's tax, the long sigh, the tax that gets paid every time the child takes a step forward and the parent realizes the steps are away from her and toward whoever the child is becoming.

Mark called from San Diego. The twins are talking in sentences now. Marco said his first full sentence this week: "Daddy I want pancit." Mark said it loud, in a phone call, into my ear. I laughed in a way that hurt my chest. The first sentence in any Santos child's life should always be about food. Carmen is teaching them words in Tagalog and English both. Sofia's first full sentence was "no Mama" which Carmen says is also an inheritance, the Santos women's first contribution to public discourse. Carmen is right.

Nilaga is the soup I made, and it is its own kind of prayer — but after Angela’s parking-lot phone call and Mark’s voice cracking over Marco’s first sentence, I wanted something we could all hold in our hands, something that felt like the Santos table even when the Santos table is spread across Anchorage and San Diego and wherever Carmen is right now. These Asian Wraps are that: quick, bright, shareable, the kind of thing you pile onto a plate and pass around, the kind of thing Marco would absolutely demand a second helping of before he’d even finished the first.

Asian Wraps

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken or ground pork
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 cup water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
• 1 head butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
• Sesame seeds and additional green onion for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha if using. Set aside.
2. Cook the aromatics. Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Brown the meat. Add the ground chicken or pork and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, for 6—8 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned. Drain any excess fat.
4. Add vegetables. Stir in the water chestnuts and shredded carrots. Cook for 2 minutes until the carrots have softened slightly.
5. Add the sauce. Pour the sauce mixture over the meat and vegetables. Stir well to coat everything evenly. Cook for another 1—2 minutes until the sauce is absorbed and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in most of the green onions.
6. Assemble and serve. Spoon the filling into individual lettuce leaves. Garnish with sesame seeds and remaining green onion. Serve immediately, family-style on a large platter.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg