When I first heard of chicken lettuce wraps, I have to admit, I was a teeny bit skeptical. Lettuce wraps were for those “healthy” people. You know the ones.
I’m more of a “let’s wrap that in cake” kind of gal.
But after a few trips to PF Chang’s, I was hooked. I’ll probably experiment with more variations, but I wanted to share this particular recipe with you because it’s spicy – and we love spicy, right? It’s also more filling than PF Chang’s wraps. Filling = good.
I’ve slightly adapted this recipe from Lindsay at Pinch of Yum. Hers are delicious. But this time I made them with a bit more sauce. I also added more zing to turn them into spicy chicken lettuce wraps. I can never get enough spicy. Zing = spicy + sauce = disappearing lettuce wraps. That’s foodgebra. It’s the new math.
For the lettuce you could choose from several varieties:
- Butter Lettuce
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Boston Lettuce (also known as Bibb)
- Green Leaf Lettuce
The lettuce used for these Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps is Green Leaf Lettuce.
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1/4 sweet red pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 – 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (optional)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Fresh basil (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup torn up leaves – must be fresh!)
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked white/brown rice (I used Nishiki brand)
- Large pliable lettuce leaves, washed (Boston Bibb, Green Leaf, Iceberg, Butter)
Instructions
- Cook your rice according to package directions.
- In small bowl, combine soy sauce, olive oil, sugar, and water. Stir and set aside.
- In large nonstick skillet, brown together the chicken, jalapeno, red pepper, garlic, and ginger over medium heat. After 1 or 2 minutes, add your soy sauce mixture to the meat mixture and stir.
- When chicken is cooked through, take pan off heat. Add rice to chicken and stir until combined. (The original recipe calls for 2 cups cooked rice, but you can add more if you have more than that in your pot). Stir in basil.
- Roll up into lettuce leaves and top with additional basil, if desired.
Notes
More great recipes at www.thekitchensnob.com
Spice Up Your Relationship, Literally
Gretchen
You need to copyright foodgebra. It’s my favorite new word!!! Adding a little kick to lettuce wraps – even more brilliance. Can’t wait to try them.
The Kitchen Snob
Please let me know if you make them! Love to hear from my readers if recipes work for them or not.
Gardengirl
I have never had lettuce wraps and PFChangs is
one of my favorite places! These sound great
and I am going to try them very soon! The NEW
MATH, indeed!
thefairlyGoodMother
I made chicken lettuce wraps a while back, but this recipe looks WAY yummier and easier, too! I’m glad there is no fish juice in this one … I will give it a whirl this week 🙂
Oh and PS – if you want to cut down on time you can always buy the frozen rice ~ Trader Joe’s has the BEST Jasmine Rice (which I think would taste great with this.)
The Kitchen Snob
Let me know if you try the recipe! I’ve been buying that frozen rice you told me about and I like it for those times I’m in a pinch. Although, it’s not as sticky as I prefer for Asian recipes. So for this recipe, I still prefer the Nishiki brand. I am a snob, after all! 🙂