One of my favorite appetizers would have to be Asian chicken lettuce wraps. Light and full of amazing flavors, these wraps are the perfect treat on a hot day. Served as a lunch dish or a starter to a dinner, these crunchy “lettuce tacos” are simply delicious.
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
35 mins
One of my favorite appetizers would have to be Asian chicken lettuce wraps. Light and full of amazing flavors, these wraps are the perfect treat on a hot day. Served as a lunch dish or a starter to a dinner, these crunchy “lettuce tacos” are simply delicious.
Course:
Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine:
Asian
Ingredients
Stir fry sauce
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ Teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ Teaspoon fish sauce
Chicken filling
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 2 large breasts grilled and diced
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 cup water chestnuts diced
- 1 cup mushrooms diced
- ½ red onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 2 Tablespoon cilantro rough chopped
- 2 Tablespoon fresh mint rough chopped
- 2 Tablespoon basil rough chopped
- 6 - 8 leaves iceberg lettuce
Asian barbecue sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
Method
Stir fry sauce
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Place all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well and set aside.
Chicken filling
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Grill chicken until just done, do not over-cook. Allow to cool and then dice.
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If you are not going to grill the chicken. Dice the meat into small pieces. Heat the oil in wok or skillet, add chicken and stir fry until done. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the pan and continue with instructions below.
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In a small bowl or ramekin, mix together the stir fry sauce and set aside.
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Prepare all ingredient by chopping and dicing to pea size pieces.
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Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium high heat.
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Add water chestnuts, onion, garlic, and pepper.
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Stir fry until onions are slightly tender about 2 – 3 minutes.
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Add mushrooms and stir fry for another minute.
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Add chicken and herbs, stir to mix well.
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Add stir fry sauce and mix well to coat.
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Remove from heat.
Asian barbecue sauce
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Put all ingredients into a small sauce pan and heat until sauce just begins to boil stirring constantly.
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Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until sauce has reduced by about half and has thickened to a syrup. Chill before serving.
Serve
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Serve the chicken mixture in lettuce cups with an assortment of condiments such as Asian barbecue sauce, Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce, and Garlic Red Chili Sauce.
Cooks Notes
I cooked my chicken on the grill to add another layer of flavor, but you can certainly cook it in a wok or skillet as well. Feel free to add or omit any ingredients you choose. I do find however it works best to dice everything small and the same size. Use roasted eggplant instead of chicken to create a vegetarian version.
Made this a couple of days ago. My husband and I liked it so much I’m making it again tonight! Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad to hear you liked the wraps! Thanks for reading my blog and also for the feedback!
Sounds wonderful, Christoph. I’m a big fan of occasionally using lettuce in place of bread, especially on hot summer days.
Me too Kathleen, and an easy way to add some cool crunch to lunch!
This great! I am going to showcase this on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SeductionInTheKitchen you are welcome anytime to post your photo and post links on it!
Thanks Nellie!