My new obsession has been ground chicken from Trader Joe's. It's just so dang delish. I also adore Chinese Lettuce Cups. The two are a match made in heaven. I ate this every week during the summer. It's spicy and crunchy and the lettuce cup adds a freshness that helps when it's hot. It's also low carb if you're into that sort of thing.
You can get this an appetizer in some Chinese restaurants but it's so easy to make at home. It takes about 20 minutes to make from start to finish.
You need:
1 head of iceberg lettuce (you can use endive or romaine if you want to make lettuce boats)
ground chicken (you can use cubed too)
1 small onion
fresh chopped garlic
fresh minced ginger
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
chili sauce (optional)
black pepper
water chestnuts
I start by dicing up one small onion
and oil to a frying pan over medium heat (I used olive oil)
Sauté for a few minutes
Season with black pepper (no salt since we'll be adding some soy sauce later)
I use Trader Joe's chicken because I'm a little obsessed with it, but you can use any brand.
This is a 1 pound package
Add ground (or diced) chicken to your frying pan
Add about a tablespoon or soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
Add a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
And about teaspoon of minced ginger
(my ginger is square because I mince fresh ginger ahead of time,
freeze flattened in a zip lock bag and break into squares for cooking)
Cook for about 4 minutes and make sure to really chop up your cooking chicken so the texture is nice and crumbly.
Grab your can of water chestnuts (I'm also in LOVE with water chestnuts).
Even though the name implies it, these are not nuts at all. It's more like a root and they are super crunchy and don't actually have much flavor. They add crazy crunch even after being sautéed and I panic if I run out of them in my pantry.
Drain the water out of the can (these came sliced, you can get them whole too)
Using my knife, I give them a course chop
Add them into your frying pan
Next, I grab my hoisin sauce.
Hoisin sauce is a thick, pungent sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fries, or as dipping sauce. It is darkly colored in appearance and sweet and salty in taste.(Thanks, Wikipedia!)
Add about a tablespoon
I like all things spicy so I also add a tablespoon or more of Sambal Oelek chili sauce. You can skip if spicy isn't your thing.
Give it another quick stir about to mix in all the seasoning and then you're done!!!
Spoon into washed, clean lettuce cups.
You can garnish with chopped green onion and even fried rice noodles.
Feed you face.
If you prefer, you can also use ground beef or ground pork. Also, equally delicious. I prefer chicken because it keeps this dish on the lighter side.
You may also use raw cabbage cups or even chop up your lettuce and make a salad. This is also great to eat over rice or quinoa. Happy eating.
