Thai Lettuce Wraps

Cravings-Recipes for all the Food you Want to Eat

Photo taken from Chrissy Teigen's Craving's Cookbook

I just recently bought a new cookbook, Cravings, Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat.  The book was written by food-lover and model Chrissy Teigen. I took this cookbook on vacation recently and read it like a good novel, I couldn't put it down.  Her recipes all look and sound delicious.  It's all the recipes I want to make and eat.  Chrissy description for each recipe had me laughing out loud, she's hilarious! When I got home the first thing I made from Chrissy's book was her Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  We loved these lettuce wraps!  So flavorful, delicious and healthy.  I can't wait to make more of her recipes and share them with you but in the mean time check out her book.  It's a good read and is packed with great recipes and photos of Chrissy, her family and of course the food.  I even saw my husband checking out the book but I'm not sure he was looking at the recipes!!  

I did change the recipe, but only a little.  I used only one tablespoon of Sriracha instead of two.   I also used ground turkey instead of ground chicken only because I like the brand of ground turkey from Jennie-O.

Here are a couple of other brands I used in this recipe.

I always have a  bottle of this Mae Ploy Thai sweet chili sauce in the fridge as it a good dip for pot stickers. 

I'm always looking for ways to cut down on salt so I always use low sodium soy sauce. 

Just looking at these pictures makes me want to make them again soon!

For The sauce:

3 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons light soy sauce (I used low sodium)

2 tablespoons Sriracha (I used 1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon 100% pure sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger  (I finely grated the ginger using a microplane grater)

For The filling:

1 pound ground chicken (I used ground turkey)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens kept separate

1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I finely grated the ginger using a microplane grater)

8 oz white mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned, and finely chopped

1/2 cup finely diced canned water chestnuts (I used the whole 8oz can)

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated (I used whole romaine leaves, I liked the crunch)

Directions

MAKE THE SAUCE: In a bowl, combine the chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, Sriracha, vegetable oil, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, and ginger.

MAKE THE FILLING: In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the sauce into the ground chicken.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil (I didn't use the oil) over medium-high heat. When shimmering-hot, add the chicken and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, then add the scallion whites, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they release their liquid, 3 to 4 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, then add the water chestnuts, bell pepper, and the rest of the sauce and cook, stirring, until cooked through and the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the scallion greens.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set out with the lettuce leaves.