Asian Sweet and Spicy Pork Sandwhiches

Once again I have leftover gyoza filling in the freezer (see the post Pork and Cabbage Stuffed Pork Chops ). I never seem to get the amount of filling to wrapper ratio right! Anyway, it's not really a big deal as the filling freezes well, and can be used to make more gyoza, or other meals, as I did last night.

I also found a small amount of edamame beans in the freezer, which would be great added to the meat.

I bought some more ground pork, added the gyoza filling (ground pork, shredded cabbage, carrots and green onion, garlic, ginger and soy sauce) as well as Hoisin sauce and sriracha. I made some Hawaiian sweet rolls, and added thinly sliced cucumber. This was an easy meal to make, very tasty, messy to eat and there is some left for lunch today!

Using a bit of vegetable oil, cook until soft:

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

Stir in, and cook for a minute:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

Add:

1 pound ground pork

Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon until the pork is almost no longer pink.

Stir in:

Leftover gyoza filling; I had about 1 1/2 cups

or:

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
2 green onions, minced
1 cup cabbage, thinly sliced




Continue to cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is all fully cooked.

Stir in:

2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1/4 - 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
2 - 3 teaspoons sriracha
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Add:

3/4 cup Edamame beans








Continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened. Warm the Hawaiian sweet buns, thinly slice some cucumber, and you are ready to assemble and serve the sandwhiches.

Cut the buns in half, and place a large spoonful of the hot meat onto the bottom half of the bun.

Top with thinly sliced cucumber.







I served two sandwhiches per person, as the sweet Hawaiian rolls are small. I also made some slaw, with fresh cabbage, carrots, green onions and a peanut dressing.

• When I make the gyoza filling, I finely shred the cabbage, then blanch it in salted water and after allowing it to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If you are adding cabbage to the meat instead of gyoza filling, this is optional. All extra liquid will reduce away as the meat cooks.
• The varied amounts given for hoisin sauce and sriracha are there so that the sweetness and spiciness can be adapted to your taste. I started with the smaller amounts, and found that I added more. 
• When the meat is cooked, taste; adjust the salt by adding more soy sauce if you feel it is necessary.
• This meat filling can be served in lettuce wraps, steamed buns, tortillas, with rice or noodles.
• The meat filling can also be frozen once it is cooked.
• This can be made using any ground meat...chicken, turkey, beef.