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Chicken lettuce wrap is an easy and fun appetizer that would also work as a full meal. It's inspired by the lettuce wrap you get in Chinese restaurants that is made from the meat of Peking duck. With five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, crunchy water chestnuts and crisp iceberg lettuce, it was an instant hit with my family!
If you're wanting to make this a full meal, simply serve it with a simple rice or noodle dish like these buttery garlic noodles, crab fried rice, or vermicelli pad see ew.
Ingredients & Substitutions
The Sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1½ Tbsp hoisin sauce + 2 Tbsp for wrapping
- 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Thai tamarind paste (aka tamarind concentrate). This is just to add a little acidity. If you don't have it, half a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice can also work. Learn more about tamarind here.
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper, black pepper will work too
- Chili flakes, to taste, optional
The Filling and Lettuce Wrap
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ½ onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- ½ tsp five spice powder, store bought is fine, but if you have a lot of whole spices in your cupboard, you can probably make it real quick using my five spice powder recipe.
- 500 g ground chicken, preferably dark meat, but ground pork or ground turkey would also work.
- ½ cup carrot, small dice
- ⅓ cup water chestnuts, canned, small dice, or you can opt for adding more carrots or any other crunchy vegetables such as broccoli stems.
- 1 tsp black soy sauce or dark soy sauce, this is optional and is added for that dark colour.
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Half a head iceberg lettuce, split into leaves and cut into pieces about 4"x2". For other lettuce options, see the FAQ below.
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish (optional). Som roasted chopped peanuts will also be great here for a little crunch.
How to Make a Chicken Lettuce Wrap
If this is your first time making a lettuce wrap, I recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!
- Dilute the 2 Tbsp of hoisin paste/sauce for wrapping with a bit of water if needed to make it loose enough to easily spread onto the lettuce. Set aside.
- Combine all sauce ingredients together and stir. If you want, you can add a splash of water to loosen it to make it easier to pour into the wok.
- In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and just enough water to dissolve it. Stir until there are no more lumps. Set aside.
- In a wok, add just enough oil to coat the bottom and heat over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and stir until the onion is translucent. Add five-spice powder and stir for 30 seconds to toast the spices.
- Add the ground chicken and break it apart with the spatula. Once there are no more lumps, but the chicken is still partially raw, add the sauce mixture and keep cooking and stirring until the chicken is almost done.
- Add carrots and water chestnuts and stir. Once the chicken is fully cooked, crank the heat up to high and stir constantly until there is no more sauce pooling at the bottom of the pan.
- Add dark or black soy sauce to adjust colour if you wish.
- Stir the cornstarch slurry again (it will have settled while it sat) and pour into the chicken and stir quickly. This will thicken the sauce and allows the sauce to cling to the chicken pieces rather than run down and pool at the bottom. Turn off the heat.
- Toss in the green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
- To serve, put a bit of diluted hoisin sauce on a piece of iceberg lettuce. Put the chicken filling on top, drizzle with toasted white sesame seeds and enjoy!
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
Absolutely! The filling can be made in advance and reheated when serving. The lettuce can be washed, dried and split into leaves ahead of time, and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
How to Store Leftover Lettuce Wraps
Any leftover filling will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and it can simply be reheated in the microwave. The lettuce can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container, and you can put some moist paper towel on top to keep it from drying out. Keep the two separately!
Tips for Success
- Ground chicken breast is okay, but if possible get ground dark meat chicken as it is juicier, or at least a mix of both dark and white.
- If you're harding a hard time breaking the clumps of ground chicken in the wok, adding a splash of water can help loosen it up a bit. It's important not to have big clumps of chicken,
- Dark soy sauce or black soy sauce are added just for a richer colour. A little goes a long way, so be careful not to add too much as it can impart a bit of an unpleasant taste.
FAQs
In Chinese restaurants, this will typically come with iceberg lettuce which I think is ideal because of its crunchy freshness. If you want to use other types, I recommend choosing ones that are crunchy and not too delicate so that it won't be overpowered by the filling.
Aside from iceberg, the inner, smaller leaves of romaine lettuce are also great and comes in a spoon shape which makes it convenient to fill. You can also put the filling in Belgian endive leaves for an elegant presentation. Green leaf lettuce or butter lettuce are a bit too floppy, but the smaller, crunchier inner leaves can work.
Peel the leaves off gently keeping them as intact as possible. Then cut them into pieces about 2x4 inches. It should be big enough to wrap around one bite of filling without too much excess. If they're wet from washing, make sure you dry them thoroughly as wet lettuce would dilute the flavour of the wrap.
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
Chicken Lettuce Wrap Recipe
- Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
The Sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp hoisin paste or 1½ Tbsp hoisin sauce + extra for wrapping
- 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce (see note)
- 1 Tbsp tamarind juice (aka tamarind concentrate)
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- Chili flakes, to taste
The Rest
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ½ onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
- ½ tsp five spice powder
- 500g ground chicken
- ½ cup carrot, small dice
- ⅓ cup water chestnuts, small dice
- 1 tsp black soy sauce (optional)
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Half a head iceberg lettuce, split into leaves
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Note: I don't use Thai soy sauce for this because it's too light. In the video I used Filipino soy sauce, but you can use Chinese or Japanese soy sauce as well.
Instructions
Combine all sauce ingredients together and stir. If you want, you can add a splash of water to loosen it to make it easier to pour into the wok.
In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and just enough water to dissolve it. Stir until there are no more lumps. Set aside.
In a wok, add just enough oil to coat the bottom and heat over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and stir until the onion is translucent. Add five-spice powder and stir for 30 seconds to toast the spices.
Add ground chicken and break it apart with the spatula. Once there are no more lumps, but the chicken is still mostly raw, add the sauce mixture and keep cooking and stirring until the chicken is almost done.
Add carrots and water chestnuts and stir. Once the chicken is done, crank the heat up to high and cook, stirring constantly, until there is no more sauce pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Add black soy sauce to adjust colour if you wish. Stir the cornstarch slurry again (it will settle over time) and pour into the chicken and stir quickly. This will thicken the sauce and allows the sauce to cling to the chicken pieces rather than run down and pool at the bottom. Turn off the heat.
Toss in green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if needed.
To serve, put a bit of diluted hoisin paste or hoisin sauce on a piece of iceberg lettuce. Put the chicken filling on top, drizzle with toasted white sesame seeds and enjoy!
Stephen Chan
A good way to eat more veggies, the carrots and water chestnuts give the crunch it needs, yum.
★★★★★
Cynthia Simonsen
This was a hit for dinner tonight. Only two substitutions. Stores were out of water chestnuts so used celery - added late per recipe and were nice and crunchy. We have a garden and lettuce picked only minutes before the meal is still very crunchy, maybe not as good “cups” but quite healthy. If buying lettuce, I would definitely go for iceberg. And, I minced chicken thighs instead of buying ground chicken. Lots more work, wish we had a butcher who would do this at the store:-(
★★★★★
Poonam
Please let me know the veg option.
Deo Patel
I am also from Surrey BC
Following your recipes for awhile. Tried this recipe for the first time and it's a hit. Thanks
★★★★★