Hello!  This is Kimberly’s younger sister Megan.  I am the other guest blogger, while Kimberly and her husband are on their beach vacation.  I am the sister that got her addicted to reading food blogs, which caused her to start this blog for all of you.

Tonight I made Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps from the America’s Test Kitchen Fast & Fresh Recipe Card Collections.  This is a book I have had for 3 years and I have never gotten to this recipe.  My husband and I are always up for trying new recipes and eating anything Asian.  If you came to our house you would find us eating asian food 5+ times a week.  We LOVE it.  This recipe did not upset.  We have had many varieties of lettuce wraps in the past, though this is nothing like the restaurant lettuce wraps we have had before, this was a sweet alternative to an all-time favorite.

As a side dish to this meal I decided a pork egg roll and edamame would be delicious.  I just buy frozen edamame and cook it and top it with sea salt.  This is a favorite as a quick vegetable to add to any of our asian inspired meals throughout the week.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Fast & Fresh Recipe Collection

1 head iceberg lettuce

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sambal oelek, chile garlic sauce

2 tablespoons water

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetableoil

1 pound ground chicken

salt and pepper

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 (8oz) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped fine

5 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup grated carrot

1. Remove 8 large, bowl-shaped leaves from head of lettuce; reserve remaining lettuce for another use.  Whisk hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sambal oelek and water together in measuring cup.  Combine garlic, ginger and 2 teaspoons of oil in small bowl.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Cook chicken, stirring to break up clumps, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer into bowl.

3. Chop vegetables while the chicken is cooking.

4. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and heat until just smoking.  Add bell pepper, water chestnuts, scallions, and carrots and cook pepper until softens,a bout 3 minutes. Clear center of skillet, add garlic mixture, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add chicken and sauce and stir until thickened, about 30 seconds.  Spoon mixture into lettuce leaves and serve.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 9:14 pm and is filed under Chicken, salad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.