asian chicken lettuce wraps


i promise you will love these. this is the best recipe you will find (believe me, i looked, and then i had to make my own.) the best part is that it uses ingredients you likely have in your pantry and fridge already. i worked around 'special ingredients' like plum, oyster or hoisin sauce and specialty dried mushrooms to make a from-scratch cooking and dipping sauce that tastes just like the famous asian wraps from pf changs. lettuce wraps are a favorite- a great light lunch or a quick dinner served with peanut noodles or hot rice!

asian chicken lettuce wraps
an original recipe by rachelle

3 frozen chicken breasts
1 large carrot
8 whole mushrooms
3 green onions
1 red bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 can water chestnuts, drained
2 Tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1 head iceberg or butter lettuce, leaves washed and separated in wholes
rice noodles, fried quickly in hot oil (optional)

sauce: *(double for dipping sauce, set aside half, see notes below)

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sriracha (asian chile sauce***)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger

bring chicken breasts to a boil in water to cover with a pinch of salt and a clove of garlic. boil for ten minutes. remove from water and chop finely, about the size of a kernel of corn.

meanwhile, finely grate carrot. finely dice onion , water chestnuts, mushrooms and bell pepper to the same size as the chicken pieces, about the size of a kernel of corn.

*mix together sauce ingredients. whisk to combine. if you want a dip for your wraps (yes you will want a dip,) make another batch (or double) sauce, and to the dipping sauce add: a bit more sriracha, 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger.

heat 2 Tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil in a large pan. add onions, mushrooms and red bell pepper. cook 2 minutes to soften. add chicken, water chestnuts, and garlic. saute for 2 minutes. add sauce to pan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes until liquid is reduced and there is almost no liquid left in pan. stir in grated carrot. serve on bed of rice noodles with a plate of whole lettuce leaves. yummy with veggie peanut noodles or hot rice!

** in the interest of simplicity, if you have no rice vinegar, substitute regular. if you have no water chestnuts or sriracha sauce, omit them. you can substitute powdered ginger with 1/2 the measure for fresh. you can use whatever veggies you have on hand: zucchini, green pepper, whatev. the only ingredient i really insist on is the sesame oil for authentic flavor. so sorry i promised no store for you, but if you don't have any, i really insist that you must use sesame oil!

***sriracha is asian chile sauce and can be found at walmart or any other grocery store in the US- located by the soy and teriyaki sauces, or at los arcos in MX.
it is in a clear bottle that looks red from the bright red sauce. it has a green twist lid.
we love it on salads, on sushi, and anyplace else that needs a kick!
***

10 comments:

  1. I will take your word for it and will make these pronto!

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  2. Hmmm, I had Mango Chicken Lettuce Wraps planned for Saturday, but I just may have to try these instead.

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  3. Yum!!! I am so hungry I want to eat these for breakfast :)

    Xoxo

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  4. looks great!

    hey, are you off bedrest yet? I hope you are doing okay! :)

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  5. Hi Rachelle! I'm dyeing to make these.... where in the world do I find sriracha?

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  6. sriracha is asian chile sauce and can be found at walmart or any other grocery store in the US- located by the soy and teriyaki sauces, or at los arcos in MX.
    it is in a clear bottle that looks red from the bright red sauce. it has a green twist lid.
    we love it on salads, on sushi, and anyplace else that needs a kick!

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  7. I found this blog through a friends and made these immediately. They are sooo good! I am making them again tonight and then next weekend with friends over. My 3 year old even enjoyed them.

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  8. okay, I am definitely not skilled in the kitchen so my apologies upfront for these questions... The recipe calls for "frozen" chicken breasts. One of the instructions says to boil the chicken breasts for 10 minutes. Do I put the frozen chicken directly into the boiling water or do I defrost it first? Next question which will seem blaspemous on this site... I remember buying frozen, premade chicken lettuce wrap filling at Trader Joe's. This was several years ago, and haven't seem them since. Can anyone recommend where/who might carry a frozen, premade product? thanks!

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  9. Can I seriously come over for dinner soon? ...... your recipe sounds so yummy.....

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  10. Made this! It was delicious! Thank You very much! (:

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