Confession: I don’t really eat lettuce. That being said, I had some salad with dinner today. Which was mostly ranch dressing…Lettuce is simply a vessel for bigger and better things, let’s be real here. It’s the same with these chicken lettuce wraps. If you don’t have any lettuce, it’s still a great filling for tortilla wraps, or eating straight out of the pan by the spoonful.
One of my favorite meat producers at the Farmers Market announced a few weeks ago that they’d be carrying ground chicken. It just so happens that I had been waiting for someone to do just that, so that I could make these delicious little snacks. We ate a whole head of lettuce and these for a dinner this week. Snack or dinner, they always taste good. They’re not very authentic, I suppose (more or less, they’re a PF Chang’s copycat), but they sure do hit the spot.
My secret for these is making a homemade version of hoisin sauce. We have some in the fridge, but I try to avoid sugar-filled processed sauces if I can (hence why I omitted Worcestershire in this recent stew recipe). I found this great recipe from Maggie at Omnivore’s Cookbook. I would normally post a recipe, but don’t want to take the credit away from her! I made the version with homemade peanut butter (instructions to come) and gochujang (Korean chili paste). It gave it all some great flavor, without being spicy. If you need some spice in your life, feel free to add Sriracha or additional gochujang to this recipe. J informed me that these had great “base flavors” but he would have appreciated some heat. Noted for next time!
Are you a person who likes to turn up the heat on your Asian-inspired food? Or do you tend to keep it toned down? Let me know!
xxHillary
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 lb local ground chicken
- 1/2 C. hoisin sauce homemade preferable
- 1 C. diced onion about 1/2 onion
- 1/2 t. minced ginger
- 3-4 cloves garlic pressed
- 1 C. diced water chestnuts 1 can
- 3 green onions
- 1 head of lettuce
Instructions
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Heat a pan and add 1-2T. of olive oil to cook chicken and onion, breaking into small pieces.
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Once chicken is cooked, place the remaining ingredients (except lettuce), into the chicken. Mix until all components are heated through.
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Heat to serve, and salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve with lettuce leaves!
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EnJOY!
Recipe Notes
Naturally Gluten Free and Dairy Free
These lettuce wraps look so delicious! I love the idea of adding a bit hoisin sauce into the chicken. Sounds absolutely delicious! This is a great dish I’d want to cook on a weekday evening. Quick and healthy 🙂
Thanks for checking them out, Maggie! And for providing such an awesome hoisin sauce recipe! 🙂
Sooo gooood! beautiful pics and well written too 🙂
Thanks, Ross!