Lettuce wraps are everything. Absolutely everything. And I know they’ve been around forever, and I know they’re everywhere, and I know I shouldn’t have worn turquoise mascara when I got my senior pictures taken back in the eighties. I get that. But I’m not sorry.
(For the lettuce wraps or the turquoise mascara.)
Here’s how I like to make them!
First, make the marinade for the chicken, which is the cat’s meow, the bomb, and Heaven. It starts with hoisin sauce…
And soy sauce
Next, squeeze in a little Sriracha, also known as I Love the Stuff.
A little rice wine vinegar (or heck, any vinegar!) is good…
And some minced garlic and minced ginger.
Next, just slice a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips…
And add them to the marinade, tossing it around to coat it. Then cover it and pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours. You’ll be soooooo glad you did.
After that time, grill them on a grill pan (or you can saute them…)
Until they’ve got fabulous grill marks and are totally cooked through.
Oh, and one more thing! Grab a package of those super thin cellophane noodles and pour boiling water over them in a bowl.
Read the package to see how long they need to sit; it doesn’t take long at all for them to be soft and tender and magical. Then rinse them in cold water so they’ll stop cooking…but also so they’ll be cool!
Gracious. Will you look at that chicken for a sec?
Oh, and what the heck, go ahead…take two secs!
Pile it on a board with shredded carrots (these are the packaged ones), sliced red cabbage, cilantro leaves, julienne cucumbers, and of course…lettuce leaves.
Invite your friends over!
Or don’t, depending on how hungry you are.
Oh! Chopped peanuts! (Cashews are good, too!)
Oh, and another thing: Bean sprouts. Love those in lettuce wraps. I just didn’t have any.
To build the beautiful babies, grab a lettuce leaf and drizzle in a little sweet chili sauce…
Lay on a couple of pieces of chicken…
Then throw on everything else: noodles, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, cilantro, peanuts, a little more chili sauce (or hoisin or soy or Sriracha.)
(I didn’t take a photo of the lettuce wrap—or me—after I took my first bite. It wasn’t pretty.)
(But it sure tasted pretty.)
Enjoy, friends!
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Note: The printable recipe is at the top of this post, over on the right sidebar. You can also access the printable recipe here:
Lettuce Wraps Printable Recipe
I’m still working to get the actual printable put into the post itself, but in the meantime, here’s the straight-up recipe if you’d like to see what’s in it!
Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Grated Ginger
1 Tablespoon Sriracha
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
3 cloves Garlic, Grated
2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Strips
1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro
8 whole Butter Lettuce Leaves
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1 cup Thinly Sliced Red Cabbage
1 cup Julienne Carrots
1 cup Cucumber Slices
2 Tablespoons Chopped Peanuts
1 cup Cooked Thin Rice Noodles
Sweet Chili Sauce, For Serving
Instructions
For the chicken and marinade: Mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger, Sriracha, rice wine vinegar and grated garlic in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken strips and marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Remove the chicken strips from the marinade and grill until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the peanuts and cilantro.
For the lettuce and fillings: Set out the lettuce, bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and rice noodles on the serving platter.
To assemble, use the butter lettuce leaves to contain the chicken and fillings. Add some chili and hoisin sauce, then roll them up and eat!
