Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I'm still here and am still cooking!! I never knew how busy things would get with a little one in the house (so much fun!!!). But we have still been doing a lot of cooking - I just haven't taken the time to experiment with new ideas or recipes. Every now and then I do, like on my dad's birthday back in October (yes, this is a post from October finally making it to my blog in December!).

Better than PF Changs - that is what we all said about these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I always liked the wraps at PF Changs, until I made my own, that is. I went to PF Changs a week after making these, and I was not impressed! Their wraps are much saltier, and the chicken mixture has a heavy soy flavor. The wraps I made had more flavor depth and were much lighter and fresher.

I used this recipe from Wasabimom.com, a gluten-free cooking site. To see the original recipe with gluten-free substitutions, see the link above.

The Pouring Sauce

• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c warm water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp hot water
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in 1/2 c warm water. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, and sesame oil. Mix well and throw in fridge until ready to it. Before serving, combine the hot water, Dijon, and garlic - you can add this to the pouring sauce 1 spoonful at a time to taste.

The Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Mix in a small bowl and set aside.

Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes. I chopped mine even smaller than that.
• 1 8-oz can water chestnuts, chopped into pieces the size of corn kernels
• 1/2 c mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped (Basically I chopped my chicken, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and onion to pieces of the same size)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 large leaves iceberg or Napa cabbage

Cooking the Chicken Stir Fry:

• Heat oils in a large saute pan or wok until glistening
• Add the chicken and cook until mostly cooked, about 5 minutes (max.. mine took less time)
• Turn the heat down to medium-high, add another tbsp oil, then add the onions, garlic, water chestnuts, mushrooms. Saute 1 minute then add the stir fry sauce.
• Cook about 4 minutes and transfer to a serving dish.
• Serve 1-2 spoonfuls of the chicken mixture in a piece of lettuce. Yum!

These wraps disappeared in a matter of minutes. My only suggestion for next time - make more!!!