Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
This spicy chicken lettuce wraps recipe makes a Southeast Asian take on the Chinese lettuce cups from Southern China and Hong Kong, popularised in Chinese-Australian restaurants as sang choy bow (san choi bao in Hong Kong). Our deliciously-addictive minced chicken wraps take inspiration from northern Southeast Asia, from both the savoury larbs (minced meat salads) and the local custom of wrapping street food snacks in lettuce. Serve them as a snack, finger food, starter, lunch, or light dinner.
Servings: 4 Starter
Calories: 183kcal
Equipment
- Flat Bottomed Wok – Carbon Steel
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp chicken stock
- 300 g chicken mince
- 3 garlic cloves finely diced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp fish sauce to taste
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce to taste
- 1 tsp oyster sauce to taste
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 small purple shallots finely sliced
- 1 knob of ginger finely sliced into matchsticks
- ½ cup fresh coriander
- ½ cup fresh mint
- 1 long red chilli sliced
- 2 tbsp peanuts crushed
- lettuce leaves – little gem lettuce romaine or iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- To a flat-bottomed wok on medium heat, add chicken stock, chicken mince, garlic, salt and sugar, and simmer until just cooked through, stirring continuously to break apart the chicken so it isn’t lumpy.
- Add the lime juice, fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, chilli flakes, and taste, adjusting the seasoning as necessary to suit your taste.
- Add the shallots and half the ginger, and combine well, then just before serving, add half the fresh herbs, stir in, and taste to check the seasoning one last time, adjusting if necessary.
- Arrange lettuce leaves on a serving plate and scoop 2 tablespoons of chicken mince mixture onto the centre of each leaf.
- Arrange a few ginger matchsticks on the top of each mound of mixture, then sprinkle on the sliced chillies, crushed peanuts, perhaps more crushed chilli flakes (optional), and the rest of the fresh herbs.
- To eat, pick up the filled lettuce leaf and fold the edges over to create a package.
- If serving a group of guests, serve the remainder of the spicy chicken mince and a stack of lettuce leaves, and condiments on the side so guests can create their own lettuce wraps.