Wonderful Lettuce Wraps

This flavorful dish makes your taste buds do a dance!

Yummy Lettuce Wraps
(Thank you Kathryn and Rick Rowbury)


16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 lb. cooked chicken breast, chopped
1 T. cooking oil

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 T. soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 T. vinegar
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the chopped chicken in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and the water chestnuts, and stir. Stir in onions, green onions, and cooked chicken; continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Dipping Soy Sauce:
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. vinegar
1/2 cup of water
3 T. sugar


Boil ingredients together.

Tips from Kathryn:  It is meant to be a lettuce wrap but I've decided that that is a VERY sticky way of eating it as well as a lot of work for just a few bites at a time... So I serve it up in individualized wide bowls (plates would work too). I build it with a layer of lettuce (either in whole pieces or torn up, but if it curves up on the edges it looks fun), then a scoop of the main chicken and veggies, and then I leave the dipping sauce out for people to pour on top as they like. Then you eat it with forks rather than as a finger food.





Yummy Lettuce Wraps (original recipe)

16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves
1 lb. chicken breast, chopped (or lean ground beef)
1 T. cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 T. soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp. minced pickled ginger
1 T. rice wine vinegar
Asian chile pepper sauce (optional)
1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tsp. Asian (dark) sesame oil

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the chopped chicken (or ground beef) in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the water chestnuts, and stir. Stir in green onions, sesame oil, and cooked chicken/beef; continue cooking until the green onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Dipping Soy Sauce:
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. vinegar
1/2 cup of water
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil

Boil them up together. When finish, add a little chile sauce and sesame.