Asian Style Sloppy Joes

                                                  Easy Summer Meal

Cook's Notes: Love this take on an old favorite, Sloppy Joes, with an infusion of Asian flavors. It can be made in under 30 minutes and will become a family favorite. It's a sure winner for game day foods, too. The recipe serves four using regular-size buns or brioche buns, but can be stretched to eight when using small slider buns. The recipe called for serving the Sloppy Joes with broccoli slaw, but then I made a jump shift in the direction of the recipe presentation. I decided to skip the buns and go all out with an Asian-style presentation that featured small, crunchy noodles, chopped cashews, and served it on a large piece of romaine. This was soooooooooooo good and we didn't even miss the buns, and it's a healthier choice too.  

Recipe adapted from the book "Modern Comfort Cooking" by Lauren Grier
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil  
• 1 cup sweet onions, diced
• 1 cup diced celery 
• 2 tablespoons chili garlic paste 
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper 
• 1 lb. ground beef, pork, or chicken, or a combination of these meats 
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce 
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce 
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes 
• 1 tablespoon lime juice 
• 4 brioche buns or romaine leaves
• Broccoli slaw or napa cabbage, or chopped cashews with Asian style Crunchy Noodles for garnish 
  

Directions:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add olive oil to the skillet. Brown the meat with salt and pepper, onions, celery, garlic, and ginger. Move the meat to the side of the pan and wipe the pan free of grease. Crumble meat. 
• Add the chili garlic paste, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, tomatoes, and lime juice to the meat mixture. Cook mixture on low heat for 25 minutes.  
  
• Serve the Sloppy Joes (open-faced) on the brioche buns, topped with either broccoli slaw, Napa cabbage, or chopped cashews with crunchy noodles on romaine.

You may also enjoy these other Sloppy Joe recipes that have been previously posted.

Frito Pie Sloppy Joes

https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2021/07/frito-pie-sloppy-joes.html

Hawaiian Sloppy Joes

https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2024/02/hawaiian-sloppy-joes.html

Below is a link to your basic Sloppy Joe recipe, where it all started with a card

https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2020/03/one-pot-skillet-meal-sloppy-joes.html
 

and a friend. 

Sloppy Joes are an American creation that has been around since at least the 1950s. They probably got their start as a variation of the “loose meat" sandwiches popular at the time. According to legend, a cook named Joe at Floyd Angell's café in Sioux City, Iowa, added tomato sauce to his “loose meat" sandwiches, and the “sloppy joe" sandwich was born. And the rest, as they say, is history. Growing up in a large family, it was one of Mom's favorite meals to serve, as it stretched to feed a crowd, and we were 10. 

Backstory, Andi and I often traded recipes back and forth as we both enjoyed trying new recipes for our families and entertaining. When I first received this recipe, both of us had young children, and meal stretching was an important consideration. Recently, I came across her original recipe from some 40 years ago. I also noted at the bottom of the recipe that my son must have put his stamp on :) 

Given the current state of the times, budget meals like this, made with ground beef and some type of tomato sauce, are always good choices.

Often, favorite recipes are passed down through generations, and/or favorite ones from family and friends are kept and revisited from time to time. You may have some favorite ones you've made multiple times, and some of these recipes even have a story to tell.