Asian chicken lettuce wraps recipe
Asian chicken lettuce wraps with ground chicken, shrimp, crunchy vegetables, and sauce on the side so every bite stays fresh and crisp.
Servings: 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 3-4 large clove garlic 2 tbsp finely chopped
- 1 large shallot or yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 3 thin slice ginger 1.5 tbsp finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot ⅔ cup chopped carrots
- 1 medium stalk celery ⅔ cup chopped celery
- 5-6 whole canned water chestnuts drained
- ½ lb. raw white shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil
- ½ lb. ground chicken
- ¼ tsp coarse salt or more to taste
- ⅛ tsp white pepper or more to taste
Sauce (Dipping and stir-frying):
- 3 tbsp unsalted peanut butter or almond butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 pinches sugar skip if using coconut aminos
- 2 tsp hot sauce optional
- 3-4 tbsp apple juice or water (to thin the sauce)
Serve and garnish:
- 1-2 head Butterhead lettuce iceberg lettuce, or romaine lettuce
- 3 tbsp Toasted almond cashew nuts, or peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 scallion chopped
Instructions
PREP
- Aromatics: Finely chop the garlic, shallot, and ginger. Set them aside so they are ready to use.
- Vegetables: In a food processor, pulse the carrot and celery a few times until they are diced into small cubes. Do not over-process them. We want some crunch in every bite, but the pieces should be small. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.
- Chestnuts and shrimp: Drain the water chestnuts and roughly chop them. Dice the shrimp into small bite-size pieces.
- Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients, from the peanut butter to the apple juice. Stir until smooth. The sauce should be creamy but still pourable, not too thick.
Sauté the aromatics
- Preheat a large 12-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat until it feels warm when you place your palm about 2–3 inches above the surface. Add the oil, then sauté the garlic, shallot, and ginger with a pinch of salt until fragrant, about 10 seconds.
Brown the chicken
- Add the ground chicken. Season with salt and white pepper. Sauté until the meat is cooked through and broken into small bits, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and keep sautéing until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 2 minutes. The skillet should not look wet or watery, or the filling will taste diluted.
Add the vegetables
- Turn the heat back up to medium-high. Add the carrot and celery with a pinch of salt. Sauté for 1–2 minutes, until the vegetables release a little moisture but still keep their crunch.
Add the shrimp and water chestnuts
- Add the water chestnuts and shrimp. Keep tossing and scooping for about 1 minute, or until the shrimp just turn opaque.
Season the filling
- Add 2 tablespoons of the sauce and stir-fry briefly to coat everything, about 10 seconds. Keep the sauce minimal so the filling stays crunchy and does not turn soggy or wet.
- Taste and season with more salt and white pepper, if needed. Turn off the heat.
Serve
- Separate the lettuce into individual leaves and arrange them on a large serving plate. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each lettuce cup.
- Garnish with scallions and chopped nuts. Serve the extra sauce on the side. These lettuce wraps are best served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Keep the texture of this dish fresh, crisp, and light. The filling should not be watery or soggy. Make sure all the ingredients are prepped and ready before you start stir-frying. This makes the cooking much easier.
- If you are using only chicken and no shrimp, use no more than 1 pound of ground chicken. These lettuce wraps are all about the balance of textures. Too much meat can make the filling dense and less crunchy.
- In places like China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, this dish often includes shrimp, sometimes mixed with a little minced pork. If you want to make a shrimp-only version, use up to 1 pound of raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp.
- If the skillet starts to feel dry while stir-frying, add 1 tablespoon of oil at a time, just enough to keep the ingredients moving easily.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 553mg | Potassium: 481mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2719IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1mg
