So I have three recipes for Lettuce Wraps. One uses leftover chicken (sometimes this is perfect), one uses ground beef (not my favorite) and the other, which is my favorite, uses ground chicken. I pulled it out of a magazine and it was celebrity nutritionist Joy Bauer’s, from her cookbook “Slim & Scrumptious”.

The recipe is from 2010 (15 years ago!), but no matter. It’s good, it’s easy and it’s low in calories. It’s a perfect Summer dish, when you don’t have the energy for elaborate meals. You can substitute ground turkey for ground chicken and I didn’t have Boston or Bibb lettuce (my husband doesn’t like any “soft” lettuces) so I used Romaine. It was harder and crunchier, but still works. Also, I didn’t have Plum Sauce, so I just used Hoisin. As long as you substitute items in the same “flavor profile” and it tastes good, you’re fine.

I do stock up on all the basics when I visit an Oriental market. So I get Soy Sauce, Plum Sauce, Hoisin, Rice Noodles, Mirin and Ponzu. I love to walk around the aisles and look at all the different products, vegetables, fruit and frozen food and pick up what looks interesting. I have a small Publix, so surprisingly they sometimes don’t have basics like bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and baby corn, so I pick those up too.

This recipe is packed with veggies and, as a bonus, it looks pretty with all the different colors, on the plate. I didn’t have cashews, so I substituted peanuts. Looking back on it, I really should’ve gone shopping before I made this dish! But it’s summer in Miami- who has the energy? I served it with a simple Jasmine Rice to sop up the yummy juices. A fresh mango or sorbet would be a lovely, light dessert for this easy Summer meal.

Healthy Lettuce Wraps

Recipe by Joy BauerCourse: EntreeCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

298

kcal

Ingredients

• 4 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced

• 2 stalks of celery, diced

• 1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and diced

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large bell pepper

• 1 pound ground chicken

• 1/3 cup plum sauce

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tsp chili paste (or sriracha)

• 1/4 cup roasted cashews, chopped

• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

• 1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce

Directions

• Coat skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray (like Pam) and heat pan over medium-high heat.
• Add carrots, celery, water chestnuts, scallions, ginger, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally until veggies soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground chicken and cook until chicken is no longer pink, using a wooden spoon to break meat until fine pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in plum sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and chili paste. Reduce heat to low and simmer until heated through.
• Remove skillet from heat and stir in cashews and cilantro. Let mix cool 5 minutes.
• Fill 12 lettuce leaves with 1/2 cup mixture. Serves 4.

Notes

• You can substitute peanuts for cashews and can omit cilantro if you don’t like it.

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