Chicken lettuce wraps is one of my favorite quick dishes to make. It is very easy to prepare and it’s ready in fifteen minutes. The ingredients are readily available in most grocery stores. You can make this dish as an appetizer if you are entertaining, or as a light main course any day. This recipe brings back childhood memories of going to Chinese restaurants with my whole family. Everything was served family-style in big platters. These platters were placed on a big lazy Susan on the center of the table.
To Make the Chicken Lettuce Wraps
To save prep time, you can buy the carrots and cabbage that are pre-shredded from the store. The hoisin sauce, mirin and chili sauce you can find in the Asian aisle at the grocery store. Start by washing the butter lettuce and letting it dry in a colander. It is important to use paper towels to blot excess water from the leaves. Do this lightly being careful not to break the lettuce leaves.
Next, season the ground chicken with minced garlic, soy sauce, mirin and freshly ground black pepper.
The chicken mixture is cooked in hot oil using a wok or saute pan.
Then you can push the chicken to the side of the pan to make room for the vegetables. Ginger, green onions, carrots and cabbage are sautéed in oil for a few minutes. Season the vegetables with one tablespoon of soy sauce and freshly ground pepper.
To make the hoisin chili sauce, place the hoisin sauce, water, and chili sauce in a small bowl. Mix everything together and set aside while you assemble the chicken lettuce wraps. At serving time, you can warm this sauce in the microwave for 20 seconds.
The last thing to do is to lay the butter lettuce leaves on a platter. You can use a round or rectangular platter for this. Spoon the filling on the center of the lettuce. Serve it with the hoisin chili sauce on the side.
Try making this quick dish, your family will enjoy it. It’s delicious and easy to make.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce +1 Tbsp for filling
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 head of butter lettuce washed and dried
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 Tbsp ginger minced
- 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 Tbsp water
- ½ tsp chili sauce
Instructions
- Pull out leaves of butter lettuce. Wash them and let it dry in a colander. Blot leaves lightly with paper towels to get rid of extra water on the leaves. Set aside.
- Place ground chicken in a bowl. Add garlic, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, mirin and 3 grinds of pepper into the bowl. Mix it together. Se aside.
- Heat up oil in a wok or saute pan on medium/high heat. Add the chicken mixture and spread it around. Let it cook for 3 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Flip it over, then cook for another 2 minutes.
- Push the chicken to the side of the wok or pan. If pan is dry, add 1/2 Tbsp more oil. Add the ginger and let cook for 30 seconds. Add green onions, carrots and cabbage. Let it cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 2 grinds of pepper. Stir vegetables and chicken together. Turn off heat.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl mix together hoisin sauce, water and chili sauce. Warm it in the microwave for 20 seconds.
- Assemble the wraps: Lay 8 lettuce leaves on a platter. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling on the lettuce leaves. Serve with hoisin chili sauce on the side.