These chicken lettuce wraps are the perfect healthy weeknight meal!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: chicken, lettuce wraps
Ingredients
For the lettuce wraps:
1tbspolive oil
3clovesgarlicminced
1mediumoniondiced
1tbspminced ginger
1lbground chicken
1/3cuphoisin sauce
2tbsplow sodium soy sauce
1tbsprice wine vinegar
1tspsriracha
1/2tspsesame oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
18 oz.can of diced water chestnutsdrained
1green onionthinly sliced
1headbutter lettuceleaves removed from the head
For the cucumber salad:
3minicucumbersthinly sliced
1/2cuprice wine vinegar
1/2tspkosher salt
3tbspgranulated sugar
2tbspsesame 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!