Lettuce wraps are the perfect low-carb vehicle for delicious fillings. We wanted a light but flavor-packed filling and knew an Asian-inspired flavor profile was the way to go.
Chicken lettuce wraps are most often made with ground or chopped chicken thighs. To lighten up our wraps, we turned to a combo of nutty, fiber-rich brown rice and store-bought lean ground chicken. Easy to make, we seasoned the chicken filling with minced jalapeno, fish sauce, and lime zest and juice.
The bold flavors and simple ingredient list made this dish an easy weeknight dinner. Be sure to use ground chicken, not ground chicken breast (also labeled 99 percent fat free) in this recipe. To make this dish spicier, add the seeds from the chile.
ASIAN CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 20 minutes
1 cup short-grain brown rice, rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 pound ground chicken
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 Thai or jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 teaspoons grated lime zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4cup chopped fresh basil
3 scallions, sliced thin
1/4cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts, chopped
12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
Bring rice and water to simmer in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes. Off heat, lay clean dish towel underneath lid and let rice sit for 10 minutes.
Mash chicken in bowl with back of wooden spoon until smooth and no strand-like pieces of meat remain. Heat oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add ground chicken, chile and lime zest and cook, breaking up meat with spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, and cornstarch together, then add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened, about 45 seconds. Off heat, stir in basil, scallions, and peanuts. Gently fluff rice with fork. Divide chicken filling and rice evenly among lettuce leaves and serve.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.