Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Cucumber Salad

A lot of times when I’m cooking, I am making things for Jared and going off of what he loves to eat. But this recipe is ALL about me. I absolutely love lettuce wraps. They are so flavorful, full of crunchy water chestnuts, pretty healthy, and have lots of hoisin sauce, which I also can’t get enough of. If you aren’t a huge fan of lettuce wraps, you can also make the ground chicken mix and instead eat it on top of rice, noodles, or something I personally love, wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla with cucumber salad, hoisin, and avocado on top – it kind of has a moo shu pork vibe that way. Which YUM.

Pulling this all together is super easy. First you’ll make your cucumber salad. You can eat it immediately after making, but I think it only gets better as it sits. So I like to make this first (sometimes even a day ahead) and then focus on the ground chicken.

Then it’s time to focus on the lettuce wrap mixture. First you’ll combine all of your ingredients for the sauce – hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set that aside and then get working on the chicken. First you’ll sauté your onion, garlic, and ginger until translucent and fragrant. Then add in your ground chicken. Stir frequently, breaking up the chicken with the back of your spoon. Cook the chicken until you no longer see any pink.

When you no longer see any pink, it’s time to mix in your sauce. If you have any excess liquid in the pan from your chicken, you might want to pour that out first so your sauce doesn’t get too thin. You might have the liquid if you are using dark meat ground chicken, but likely will not if you are using breast meat. Once you’ve added your sauce, stir to fully coat the chicken. Bring to a simmer to thicken the sauce and then stir in the water chestnuts and green onions.

Put your chicken mixture on the butter lettuce and top with cucumber salad. This is also great topped with some avocado. Enjoy!

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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Cucumber Salad

These chicken lettuce wraps are the perfect healthy weeknight meal!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chicken, lettuce wraps

Ingredients

For the lettuce wraps:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 8 oz. can of diced water chestnuts drained
• 1 green onion thinly sliced
• 1 head butter lettuce leaves removed from the head

For the cucumber salad:

• 3 mini cucumbers thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the cucumber salad.
• Place in an airtight container and put in the refrigerator while you make the lettuce wraps. You can also make the cucumber salad in advance and keep it in the fridge. It just gets better as it sits!
• In a small bowl, make the sauce by combining the hoisin, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk to combine.
• In a large pan over medium heat, combine the olive oil, onion, garlic, and ginger.
• Cook until softened and translucent.
• Add the ground chicken and cook until you no longer see any pink. As you stir, break apart the chicken with the back of your spoon.
• Once you no longer see any pink, check to see if you have any excess liquid in the pan. If you are using dark meat, you might have a little more than you want. With breast meat, it's usually fine. If you have too much liquid, pour that out before you add your sauce.
• Then add in your sauce (hoisin mix). Stir until all of the chicken is coated. Bring the sauce to a simmer to thicken slightly.
• Stir in the green onions and water chestnuts and cook for about 2 minutes more, until the sauce begins to thicken.
• Place the butter lettuce leaves on a plate and top with the chicken mixture. I like to double up on the lettuce to make the wraps a bit sturdier.
• Top with cucumber salad and enjoy!

Notes

If you don’t have butter lettuce, you can also use romaine or bibb lettuce. This is also great in flour tortillas, it gets a kind of moo shu pork vibe that way. It’s also delicious topped with avocado!