Birthday Pu Pu's

As you know, we like to entertain, and our favorite

form of entertainment is interactive eating, like

fondue, raclette, making pizzas, and Pu Pu Platters.

We were introduced to these early in our marriage

at a local restaurant.  We were so enchanted, that we

asked them if we could purchase a couple of theirs.

These two pictured are from way back then.

We would often order take out appetizers

from our local restaurant and serve these

outside in the summer.

When thinking about something for two of my sons'

birthdays, my daughter suggested we break out

the Pu Pu Platter.  You know how you forget about

things?  Well, the grandkids hadn't seen these

and they had a lot of fun with the name, saying,

"I don't want to eat poo poo!"

I had blogged about these a few years ago,

so for recipes you can click here.

My little 3 year old helper scooped all the chicken into

the paper wrapped chicken packets, while I sealed them

up.  You can deep fry them, but we like to bake them at 400 

for 20-25 minutes.

This time I also made some Cream Cheese Rangoons,

Cream Cheese Rangoons

1 package won ton wrappers

8 oz cream cheese,

2 T. chopped green onion

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

Mix the softened cream cheese with the onion and

garlic.  Moisten all four sides of the won ton wrappers

and place a small dollop of cream cheese in the center.

Bring two sides together and seal, then bring the

other sides up and seal to make a packet, or make

like traditional won ton shape.  

Heat vegetable oil and deep fry at 375 for a couple

of minutes.

In addition to the teriyaki beef skewers, and the 

paper wrapped chicken, I also purchased

Lemon Grass Chicken Stix

 and Pork Shu Mai

from Trader Joes.  They

were both delicious and just had to be heated up.

Line the sections of the Pu Pu platters with leaf

lettuce.  Place gel Sterno in the grills and light.

The grills just warm up the food and are fun.

They aren't very expensive on Amazon, and

are probably easier to get than asking your

local restaurant to sell you some!

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by.

Pu Pu Platter

You know me, I am always looking for fun dishes and ways

to serve up food that makes it more entertaining.

One of our local Chinese restaurants, China Bowl, which is

no longer in business, was a favorite place to go for

inexpensive Chinese food.  One of our favorites was

their appetizer called the Pu Pu Platter.

Wikipedia says a Pu Pu platter is a "tray of American Chinese

cuisine consisting of an assortment of small meat and seafood

appetizers." 

(Pronounced with a long U so that makes the kids all laugh!)

What makes this such a fun Chinese Dish is that you have 

a mini hibachi that you can heat things over.

Years and years ago I asked if I could purchase some of these

appetizer trays from them and we have enjoyed them

now for years.

I found them on Amazon for you if you want to have

the platter and mini hibachi to use.  They are so fun

for entertaining and often we would just buy the appetizers

from the restaurant and bring them home and serve them

on the platter set.  I gave one to my sister Joni years ago too

(Red Couch Recipes).

What makes them heat up is that you place Sterno in

the mini hibachi and light it so that you can heat up all

of your precooked foods right there at the table.

This time we decided to make some things and to purchase 

some things.

We made these Teriyaki Beef Skewers.

Teriyaki Beef Skewers Recipe

3 tenderloin steaks (you could use other

steak, but these make such a tender skewer)

bamboo skewers

1/2 C. soy sauce

1/2 C. water

1 C. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

Soak the skewers in a pan of water for 30 minutes.

Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips.  Thread

them onto drained skewers.

In a 9x13 inch pan mix the soy sauce, water, sugar, garlic and

ginger.  Place the beef skewers in the pan, turning over to coat

all sides.  Let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Cook on 

a grill until medium.  Remove to a platter.

To eat, place them on the hibachi grill to reheat one at at time.

and we made Paper Wrapped Chicken.

Paper Wrapped Chicken Recipe

3 C. cubed raw chicken breast

1 T. oil

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white or black pepper

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil

Tin foil, cut into 6x6 inch squares (I made 18)

Mix all of the ingredients together and place in refrigerator

for about 1 hour to marinate.

Place about 2 T.

chicken mixture into the center of each square of foil.  Fold

the foil in half into a triangle and then fold the two edges

over a couple of times to seal them.

The traditional method is to deep fry the packets of chicken

at 350 for about 3 minutes,

but we like to place them on a baking sheet and bake at

400 for 20-25 minutes.  Check one to see if it is done.  If you

want the chicken to caramelize a little, you can bake it a

little longer.  These are a big favorite.

(This recipe comes from Betty Crocker's Chinese Cookbook,

printed in 1981.  I have had it since college.)

We pan fried purchased Potstickers

and deep fried purchased Egg Rolls.

Ham Fried Rice filled out the menu and it was finished

off with fresh pineapple and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Ham Fried Rice Recipe

6 C.  cooked, converted brown rice (use 2 C. uncooked rice)

6 eggs, scrambled

1 C. ham, cubed

1 bunch green onions, sliced diagonally

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2-3 T. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. salt (if desired)

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 T. vegetable oil, divided

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 2 T. oil and add the cooked

rice.  Stir fry it until the rice is dry and beginning to "pop" a little.

Remove the rice and add the remaining vegetable oil.  Stir fry

the onion and garlic for one minute.  Add the ham and stir fry

one more minute.  Add the rice, eggs and stir fry for a minute and

stir in the soy sauce.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.

(This makes enough for a crowd.)

This is a really fun meal and my daughter in law reminded

me that it had been way too long since I had cooked

this fun, interactive meal.

I will be posting with 

Let's Dish

Foodie Friday

On The Menu Monday