Lettuce Wraps with Asian Spiced Chicken

I’ve always enjoyed eating lettuce wraps as they are spicy yet light and fun. My local Asian Fusion restaurant Le Shio has an excellent lettuce wrap with ground beef. Last week I saw an article in a newspaper about lettuce wraps made with ground chicken which sent me googling different recipes. I didn’t find one that was exactly what I wanted so combined and added and made my own. I used the bib (or Boston) lettuce for the wraps but I must have overstuffed them as they were breaking apart. Flavorwise I think iceberg would also work well, though not sure how well it would hold the filling.

For the chicken I used the organic ground chicken which is a bit more costly, but a regular ground chicken works well too. For the veggies feel free to experiment, I was toying with an idea of adding shredded carrots but I already had so much filling that decided against it. Might add next time I make these.

This recipe makes about 6 appetizer servings or 4 main portions. You can also serve it on a tortilla in place for the lettuce wraps or with some steamed rice or some Asian noodles.

Hope you’ll enjoy this quick and easy recipe as much as I did.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp peanut oil

1 small onion minced

1 bell pepper diced (I used half red/half orange)

8 oz can water chestnuts minced

1 lb ground chicken

For the sauce:

3 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp honey (if your honey is hard, microwave it for a few minutes to make it runny)

2 tsp sweet chili sauce

1 garlic clove grated

1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated

To serve:

1 head lettuce

2 scallions, green and white parts sliced

STEPS:

  1. Start by dicing and mincing all your veggies as this dish cooks quickly and you will want everything to be ready to throw in the pan

  2. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a dish and whisk well together

  3. Heat the peanut oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground chicken. Use your spatula to break down the meat into small pieces and cook until they start to brown

  4. Add the onion and cook until the onion is translucent

  5. Add the peppers and water chestnuts and cook until the peppers start to soften

  6. Add the sauce, reduce the heat to low and mix everything together. Simmer for a few minutes until everything is nicely coated with the sauce and the flavors are even

  7. Serve in lettuce leaves and garnish with scallions

MeatNiina OjaChicken, Lettuce, Asian, WrapsComment