These chicken lettuce wraps are fresh, exciting and full of intense and spicy flavors from soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. A terrific appetizer that’s fast and easy to make.
This is a recipe I’ve been making for years and it’s an adaptation from America’s Test Kitchen. I love everything about it, it’s savory, a little bit spicy, very satisfying and takes little effort to put together.
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How to make lettuce wraps:
Prep the chicken:
Step 1. Cut 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast into 2-inch cubes and put in the freezer for 10 minutes to make it easier to process. Transfer the chicken to the food processor.
Step 2. Pulse the chicken a few times to grind.
Make the marinade:
Step 3. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and ½ teaspoon corn starch. (The corn starch helps to keep the meat tender during the frying process later, a technique called velveting.)
Step 4. Mix the ground chicken into the marinade, cover and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Prep the sauce:
Step 5. While the chicken is marinating, finish the prep work for the sauce:
In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together:
- ¼ cup sake
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 minced or pressed garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon corn starch (to thicken the sauce)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Prep the vegetables:
Step 6. Set the sauce aside and get 5 shiitake mushrooms, 4 green onions and 1 celery stalk ready.
Step 7. Dice the vegetables, then set aside.
Step 8. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
Fry the chicken:
Step 9. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and fry the chicken until cooked through.
Fry the vegetables:
Take the chicken out of the pan, then fry the vegetables (no need to clean the pan in between).
Cook the sauce:
Add the chicken back in, then pour in the sauce and cook until it starts to thicken.
Step 10. Transfer the filling into lettuce leaves and drizzle with hoisin sauce.
How to eat the wraps:
Spoon the filling into fresh lettuce leaves, drizzle with a bit of hoisin sauce and eat with your fingers.
Recipe tips and common questions:
I like to use butter lettuce for wraps. It tastes great and the individual leaves of a head of butter lettuce are sized and shaped perfectly to make individual wraps. Each leaf is like a miniature bowl with lots of nooks and crannies, so it’s perfect for holding the filling.
As long as you use butter lettuce you don’t need to cut the lettuce at all. The individual leaves have just the right shape and size to make a wrap.
The secret to crisp lettuce wraps is keeping the lettuce leaves cold and moist right until serving. Keep the lettuce leaves in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge and stuff a moist paper towel into the bag with them. That way the lettuce will stay fresh and crisp.
Transfer any leftover filling into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 1 day. Keep leftover lettuce leaves in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge along with a moist paper towel.
No, both the soy sauce and the hoisin sauce in this recipe contain wheat.
Chicken lettuce wraps make a terrific appetizer and work great with this Chicken Noodle Stir Fry.
No, the two terms are used interchangeably.
More delicious light chicken dishes:
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Full Recipe
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast (2 medium-sized breast halves)
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon corn starch
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup sake
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 medium–large shiitake mushrooms
- 4 green onions
- 1 celery stalk
- vegetable oil for frying
For the wraps:
- lettuce leaves*
- hoisin sauce
Instructions
For the marinade:
- Cut the chicken into 2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes (this will make it easier to process).
- Grind the chicken in the food processor, then set aside.
- Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, oil and corn starch together in a bowl large enough to hold the processed chicken.
- Mix the chicken into the marinade and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
For the sauce:
- Whisk sake, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, oil, sesame seeds, corn starch and pepper flakes together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Dice the shiitake mushrooms, the green onions and the celery stalk. Set aside.
- Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan on high heat.
- Drain the chicken out of the marinade and fry it in the oil until it is cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Add more oil to the pan and fry mushrooms, green onions and celery until they start to soften.
- Add the chicken back into the pan, then add the sauce and cook until it thickens and turns translucent.
For the wraps:
- Fill the lettuce leaves with the chicken mixture.
- Drizzle with hoisin sauce and eat with your fingers.
Natasha @ Salt and Lavender
I just love lettuce wraps. These look fab!
Kevin | Keviniscooking
Such a beautiful, bright photo of one delicious looking lettuce cup!
Nicole B.
Thank you, Kevin! :)
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen
I love this idea Nicole, they look so moorish, I could probably manage a plateful! x
Nicole B.
Thank you, Louise. I definitely eat them by the plateful. :)
Stacey @ The Sugar Coated Cottage
I’m loving these lettuce cups! I think I would just make them a whole meal! Love the pic as well, looks like I could reach the screen and grab one (if only). Take care.
Nicole B.
Thank you so much, Stacey! They make a great whole meal indeed. :)
Tori
MMMMmmm so delicious! These sound like just what I’ve been craving!
Nicole B.
Wish I could bring you some, Tori! :)