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Lettuce Wraps

User Rating 5 Star Rating (4 Reviews) Write a review

By , About.com Guide

The latest trend at Asian restaurants, flavorful lettuce wraps make a great appetizer or main dish.

Note: If you are on a gluten-free diet, this can easily be turned into a gluten-free recipe by using gluten-free brands of Oyster Sauce and Soy Sauce and making sure all your condiments are gluten-free.

Ingredients:

  • 1 head iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce leaves (whichever you prefer)
  • Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Remaining Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 slice ginger, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 lb meat from chicken breasts or sliced white chicken meat
  • 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 can water chestnuts, rinsed in warm running water and chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Preparation:

Wash the lettuce, dry, and separate the leaves. Set aside.
 
Mix together the sauce ingredients. Heat the sesame oil in a non-stick frying pan on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry until the garlic and ginger are aromatic. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
 
Add the red pepper, water chestnuts, and celery to the frying pan. Add the sauce ingredients and cook at medium heat, Give the cornstarch/water mixture a quick restir and add to the sauce, stirring to thicken. Add the chicken back into the wok. Cook for 2 - 3 more minutes, stirring, to heat through and finish cooking the chicken.

Lay out a lettuce leaf and spoon a heaping teaspoon of the chicken and vegetable/sauce mixture into the middle. The lettuce wraps are designed to be eaten "taco-style," with the lettuce/chicken mixture folded into a package. Continue with the remainder of the chicken and lettuce leaves. Serve.
 
   Variations: Try substituting different vegetables, or using one of the many stir-fry sauces that are now on the market in place of the sauce.

Lettuce Wraps Recipe Copyright ©2000 by Rhonda Parkinson. All rights reserved.

Nutritional Breakdown for Lettuce Wraps (based on 3 servings and using boneless, skinless chicken breasts) Each serving contains: Calories 254, 16 g Carbohydrates, 31 g Protein, 7 g Total Fat, (5 g Monounsaturated Fat, 2 g Polyunsaturated Fat, 1 g Saturated Fat), 70 mg Cholesterol, 5 g Fibre, 493 mg Sodium, 801 mg Potassium.

Reader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Comments: For a vegetarian version add some roasted peanuts or tofu. An excellent source of protein. From Geeta

Stir-fried Lettuce Recipe

User Reviews

 5 out of 5
Easy, fun and very tasty!, Member TracyWeber

I made this for an Asian themed dinner party we had. I had never made lettuce wraps before but they were really easy to make. I had everything prepared and ready and then cooked when the guests arrived. I sliced the chicken before I cooked it but ended up chopping it a little more after it was cooked as I thought it might be too big to go in the wrap. I also used butter lettuce instead and it is a nice flavor. Think that is what they use in restaurants. We had a spicy dipping sauce we used as well. This would be good without the lettuce as a stir fry over rice. Was confused about how much a slice of ginger was so I used a piece about 1/2"" long and really minced it up. Flavor worked well. Got tons of compliments so I know others enjoyed it as well!

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