Sunday, August 10, 2014

Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps



I am totally obsessed with lettuce wraps lately. I made these ones awhile back and loved them, and then I made these and they were awesome!

I saw this recipe on Iowa Girl Eats the other day, and I knew I would love them too. I have adored every recipe I have ever made off her site, she is fantastic.


These Kung Pao Chicken lettuce wraps are killer. They have lots of great flavor, a nice mix of textures plus they are super easy to pull together.

What you need,

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into very small pieces
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine (Mirin)
1 ½ tbsp. chili garlic sauce
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
¼ cup water
1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced thinly
1 9oz. can water chestnuts, diced
3 green onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped peanuts (I didn’t have peanuts and used cashews and it was great!)
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried well

In a bowl stir together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce with 1 tablespoon of the corn starch. Toss the chicken in the bowl to combine.

In a separate bowl whisk together the second tablespoon of soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar and sesame oil. In another small bowl whisk the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch with the water, add it to the sauce and whisk to combine.

In a pan heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook in a single layer for 3-4 minutes until well browned and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the zucchini and water chestnuts to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the zucchini starts to soften. Add the green onions and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the chicken back to the pan and pour the sauce over. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is thickened and warmed through.


Serve the chicken in the lettuce leaves with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts or cashews, whatever you have!

I just love the combination of salty, spicy and sweet with the cool crisp lettuce and the crunch of the nuts. I could seriously eat these things every single day!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats



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