Monday, September 14, 2009

Sweet Chili Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce WrapsI tend to be quite a busy body so I continually struggle with sitting around doing nothing. On the plus side, I tend to be fairly productive, spending my weekend days running around from one errand to the next, but it's certainly a negative when I can't just relax and the weekend leaves me exhausted! Well, lucky for me, college football season is in gear so that means lots of Saturday lazy days couch time is in store.

Sweet Chili Chicken Lettuce Wraps
While I truly love college football, it's quite possible I love the snacks & munchies we make for football couch time even more. On Saturday, I decided to make something refreshing and an old-standby for Amer-asian food fans everywhere - Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Google Chicken lettuce wrap recipes, and you'll find quite a plethora of PF Chang's Copy Cat recipes. I decided to mix a few ingredients from several recipes, add a few touches of my own and see how things turned out.

These were delicious, but its hard to mimic the absolutely perfectly round lettuce cups served at restaurants. Do they hire someone just to pick out perfect heads of lettuce?! If you know the secret, please share.

Have a great week and stay tuned for a**shopping** giveaway this week!

Sweet Chili Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from various internet sources

1 pound ground chicken or turkey
Montreal Grill Seasoning (by McCormick) & salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons lite soy sauce
1 -2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
dash of black pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 cups Cole Slaw (cabbage & carrot) mix
3 scallions, chopped on an angle
1 can sliced water chestnuts, diced into small pieces
1 head of romaine or iceberg lettuce

In a medium bowl, sprinkle chicken with grill seasoning, salt and peper. Stir to combine.

In a separate smaller bowl, combine sesame oil,hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sweet chili sauce, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Heat a large skillet to hot. Add olive oil, then chicken. Cook chicken 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the red peppers, cabbage and carrot mix, scallions and water chestnuts and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Add sauce mixture and saute until all is warm, about another 2 minutes.

Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken salad in the center of each lettuce leaf

20 comments:

vanillasugarblog said...

do you know we finally have a PF Changs (kind of)near us now. We've gone 2 times in one week. Those chicken lettuce wraps are like CRACK! And here you made them and I want them again. I'm eating those crappy candy corn right now, BTW. Not good right?

Anonymous said...

I love lettuce wraps!

I always use bibb/Boston lettuce - not the hydroponic kind that comes in the big plastic thing like at TJ's though - I find these tiny little perfect heads at my local grocery store - perfect cups.

I love the use of sweet chili sauce in yours - can't wait to try it!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Mmmmnn! I can't get enough of PF Changs lettuce wraps!

Leslie said...

Ohh I love their Chicken Wraps!!

Chef Fresco said...

I love chicken wraps! Nice combo of ingredients.

Anonymous said...

I use bibb lettuce too. It's the only way to keep all that good stuff wrapped up!

Melissa said...

I love PF Changs! I'm going to make lettuce wraps this week too!!!

Christina Kim said...

ooooh these look so tasty!! great low-carb menu!

Esi said...

I think the snacks (and beer) are my favorite part of watching football. These are perfect!

BrittWilk said...

mmm... these look yummy! the last lettuce wraps i tried were no good so i'll have to give these a go! thanks, sharon!

Emily said...

These wraps sound very flavorful and delicious.

I'm like you... I can't really relax. I like to keep myself busy constantly.

So who is your favorite team?
Go Sooners!

kat said...

Those certainly sound tasty. We enjoyed our first lazy weekend day watching U of Michigan this weekend too

grace said...

what a shame that you can't be lazy. don't worry, i can make up for your lack of lethargy. :)
great wraps--they're so colorful and flavorful and delightful!

Pam said...

What a flavorful and healthy dinner - they look terrific.

noble pig said...

I love lettuce wraps so I would find myself glued to the couch eating these.

Justin said...

i love this kind of food, but i've never made it at home.

Sophie said...

I'm gonna have to give these a try, they look so fresh. Awesome, healthy game food that's for sure!

I have a hard time just sitting still too! :P

Ana Powell said...

Beautiful and delicious chicken wraps.
Have a great weekend x

Jessica said...

These look really good, I may give them a shot for some lunches next wk!

alecho said...

Dude! this looks awesome... I've never made lettuce wraps before, but I will give it a try. btw, congrats about your wedding! :)