Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

5.0(8)

I came up with this recipe trying to replicate lettuce wraps offered at Joey Tomato's. So far, I've determined, there are a number of elements that make the perfect lettuce wrap. A balance between savory taste and crunch - which is given by the combination of soy, hoisin and chiles accented by the addition of crispy noodle. I am sure this recipe will continue to evolve as I experiment with other flavors.

by Delicia T·published 2009-02-06

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One Dish Meal

Servings

(4–6)

Total time

45 min

prep 30 min

Calories / serving

482 kcal

Ingredients (17)

serves

1 head iceberg lettucelettuce
130 g egg noodles, Chinese style (or chow mein noodles)egg-noodle
2 tablespoons vegetable oilvegetable-oil
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieceschicken-breast
1 teaspoon garlic, mincedgarlic
1/2 yellow onion, finely choppedonion
1/4 yellow pepper, finely choppedbell-pepper
1/4 red pepper, finely choppedbell-pepper
250 g sliced water chestnuts, sliveredwater-chestnut
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, slivered, matchstick (or crimini)shiitake-mushroom
2 tablespoons soy saucesoy-sauce
1/2 teaspoon brown sugarbrown-sugar
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce, use more if desiredhoisin-sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce, adjust to taste
2 scallions, sliveredscallion
1 teaspoon coriander or 1 teaspoon cilantrocilantro
1/4 cup peanuts, kettle cooked is best (crushed or whole)peanut

Instructions (13 steps)

01Unwrap lettuce into "cups" and wash thoroughly.
02Heat vegetable oil in a wok, on medium high heat, and after a minute, add noodles. You will want to separate them with your fingers as you add so that the noodles are not clumpy. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the level of crispiness desired.
03Prepare (chop) your chicken and vegetables as you wait.
04Once the noodles are done, remove and set aside.
05If desired, pour 1 tsp of oil in the same wok before you saute the garlic. Do this for about 30 seconds. Garlic can burn quickly so do not leave it too long.
06Add chicken, stir fry until no longer pink.
07Add onion, peppers, chestnuts, and mushrooms. Fry for about a minute.
08While waiting for the vegetables to saute, combine soy sauce and sugar. Mix with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved.
09Add the soy sauce mixture to the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes.
10Add the hoisin sauce and chili paste.
11Add the scallions, coriander and peanuts.
12Serve over the noodles that were set aside. To assemble, spoon chicken and noodle mixture into lettuce cup. Wrap and enjoy :).
13If desired, shrimp can be substituted for chicken. Note on hoisin sauce: because hoisin is a prominent flavour in this recipe, different types of sauces may alter the taste. Try to find a simple hoisin sauce by looking at the ingredients. I tend to stay away from additional vinegars or spices, but ultimately the choice is up to you.

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Rich recipe — supports nutrition-aware planning.