Easy and delicious chicken lettuce wraps with chicken thigh and a peanut dipping sauce!
Ingredients
1lbskinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced
Cooking oil
Salt, to taste
6 to 8white mushrooms, diced
1large red bell pepper, diced
1large sweet onion, diced
2large carrots, grated
1cupdiced water chestnuts; drained
1cupdiced bamboo shoots; drained
1/2cupchopped cashews, divided
¼cupchopped cilantro
2small heads of lettuce
For Dipping Sauce:
½cupsoy sauce
2tbspsesame seed oil
2tbsprice vinegar
2 to 3tbsppeanut sauce or peanut butter
6garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
1tbspgrated or pureed ginger
2tbspchopped cilantro
1tbsphoney or agave syrup
Instructions
Making the Filling:
Prepare the chicken first: Dice the chicken into small, pea-sized pieces. Preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of cooking oil. Once the pan is hot, add in the diced chicken. Season the chicken lightly with salt and fry for 7 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is browned all over and cooked thoroughly. Transfer the cooked chicken into a large bowl and set aside; keep warm.
Into the same pan, add in the mushrooms. Add more oil if necessary and fry the diced mushrooms for 6 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms are well browned. Transfer the cooked mushrooms into the same bowl as the chicken.
Next, add in the bell pepper, carrot and onion; add more oil if needed. Saute the mixture for 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat, until the pepper is soft and the onion translucent.
Making the Sauce:
While the fillings are cooking, prepare the peanut dipping sauce. Combine the soy sauce, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar, peanut sauce, garlic, ginger, honey and cilantro in a small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk vigorously until all the ingredients are well combined.
Bring back the chicken and mushrooms to the pan and add the diced water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, a few tablespoons of chopped cashews and a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Add half of the prepared dipping sauce to the pan and use a spatula to toss all the ingredients together. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
Serving Lettuce Wraps:
Wash the lettuce thoroughly and sort the lettuce leaves, leaving whole, medium-sized leaves for the chicken wraps. Add a few tablespoons of the chicken filling onto each leaf, then top with more chopped cashews and chopped cilantro. Dip the wraps into the sauce and enjoy immediately. Assemble the wraps as you are enjoying them; do not store assembled wraps. Keep the lettuce and filling separately.