My latest culinary discovery is the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap. Actually, it’s not a new discovery. I’ve been ordering this dish at The Cheesecake Factory for years, but I never tried to make it until a few weeks ago.
I’ve been receiving the chicken share from our CSA for the past few months, and most of the cuts of chicken get used up as quickly as I receive them, but I had two bags of ground chicken sitting in my freezer for months because I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I don’t typically buy ground chicken, and the only other time I’ve tried to use it, I wasn’t thrilled with the outcome.
Then my friend Heather over at Girl Gone Mom shared her version of Chicken Lettuce Wraps on my Real Food Recipe Roundup, and the recipe uses ground chicken. I knew exactly what I was going to make with those two bags of ground chicken sitting in my freezer.
I’ve already made the lettuce wraps twice. I only made a few alternations to Heather’s recipe. I didn’t have sweet chili thai sauce, but I did have some roasted red chili paste, so I just subbed a teaspoon of that for the 1/4 cup of sweet chili thai sauce. I grated fresh ginger instead of using the ground ginger since I had some on hand, and I used Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce. I altered the measurements on the veggies a bit based on what I had on hand, and I only used half the Siracha the recipe called for, but if you like it more spicy, you can use it for garnish. It’s pretty too.
My family loves these lettuce wraps, and so do I. Plus, the leftovers make the perfect lunch, which is always a bonus.
Here’s my version.
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2 lbs ground chicken
- 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 TBSP Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 TBSP grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp siracha
- 1 tsp roasted red chili paste
- 1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, diced
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced
- Bibb lettuce or Romaine
- Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and stir, breaking up the meat well, until it’s cooked through.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic, onion, liquid aminos, ginger, siracha, chili sauce, and chestnuts. Cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, 4-5 minutes.
- Spoon the chicken mixture into lettuce leaves, sprinkle with scallions, and serve. You can also drizzle them with siracha if you like them extra spicy.
I hardly use anything but ground chicken anymore, so having a new recipe for it is perfect. These looks delicious!
Going to try it this week. We also have a recipe for white chicken chili that I like a lot.