Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps

August 10, 2014 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Marinated, ground chicken, tender mushrooms, and crunchy water chestnuts, sautéed together in a flavorful sauce. These Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps are served inside fresh, crispy lettuce leaves, topped with slivered almonds, scallions, and a mouthwatering hoisin dipping sauce.

Happy Sunday! If you missed my other post from earlier this week, be sure to check out pictures from our trip to Rome and my recipe for Pasta with Tomatoes, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella. I hope you had a great weekend like we did. Yesterday’s fishing rodeo was of course the highlight for us! What a fantastic little event put on by our community. The boys had such a BLAST! They loved fishing, the midmorning donut snack, getting to pick out a prize, and the whole experience in general. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our time at the pier.

I love wrapping up a wonderful week with a fantastic meal. The first time I made this recipe, we all stuffed our faces, and thoroughly enjoyed it. William even found a second to give me a huge thumbs up from across the table, and said, “These are so good! They should go on your blog!” So, I decided to follow his great advice. 😉

These Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps have quickly moved to the top of our favorite recipes. This is one dish that I am super excited to share! You will definitely want to add these tender, tasty, delightfully refreshing lettuce wraps to your menu this week!

The first lettuce wraps that Andrew and I ever tasted were the chicken lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang’s. They are quite good, and are clearly a popular item on their menu. The last time we had them was on our San Diego Trip 2014. We even had to get a second order because we had no idea the boys would like them so much. However, my biggest gripe with them is that they are SO greasy! I mean for something that sounds healthy, they actually aren’t. They nailed the flavor, but with all the added salt, fat, and tons of chemicals, I guess it’s a no brainer that there’s some room for improvement.

The other example for this recipe came from our local favorite Chinese restaurant, Golden Chopsticks. Their lettuce wraps are also very good! They are a lot less greasy than P.F. Chang’s, but the hunt was still on for the perfect lettuce wrap.

With the flavors of inspiration dangling in my head, I knew that I just had to figure out my own version of chicken lettuce wraps. I spent a lot of time researching and testing this one! I used some ideas from America’s Test Kitchen’s Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps as my foundation for this recipe, and then followed my own instincts and trial and error from there. I wanted to give the hoisin dipping sauce a little kick, and slightly modified this Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce in my recipe. Additions, subtractions, and multiple versions. I tried to take everything I liked about both of my favorites, leave out the things I didn’t, and voila! May I present to you, Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Easy enough for a week night, fancy enough for a special occasion, and impressive enough for company. When you’re craving that “take-out fix”, but don’t want to go out, these Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps are just what you’re looking for!

Light Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
.4 to .5 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 3 large or 5 small)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and diced
2 teaspoons canola oil

Marinade:

2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Stir-Fry Sauce:

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce

Hoisin Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
3 tablespoons warm water

Serving:

Iceberg or romaine lettuce leaves (washed, dried and left whole)
Sliced scallions
Toasted, slivered almonds
White or brown rice

Instructions

Cut each breast into 4 pieces. Place 6-8 chicken pieces into food processor at a time, and pulse until chicken resembles very fine, minced pieces. Scrape chicken into a clean bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine ingredients for the marinade: cornstarch, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, and whisk together. Pour marinade over chicken and mix together until chicken is well-coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to two hours.
While chicken is marinating, in a small, heat-proof bowl, add dried mushrooms and add enough boiling water to fully cover them. Allow mushrooms to sit for 20 minutes. Drain mushrooms from water and press out additional water. Place mushrooms on a cutting board and dice. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine ingredients for stir-fry sauce: oyster sauce, hoisin, water, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and Sriracha, and whisk together, and set aside.
Combine ingredients for hoisin dipping sauce in a tiny bowl: hoisin, Sriracha, and water, and stir together. Set aside for serving.
In a large, nonstick frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon canola oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring and breaking up chicken while cooking, until chicken is cooked through. After cooking, move chicken to a clean bowl.
Using the same pan, (not cleaned) heat an additional teaspoon of canola oil. When hot, add mushrooms and stir, cook for about 2 minutes. Then stir in garlic, scallions, and water chestnuts, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry sauce (stir sauce again right before adding to pan), and mix together, until combined. Cook for about 1 to 2 more minutes, until all ingredients are hot. Remove from heat.
To serve, place about 1/4 cup of chicken onto a piece of lettuce. Top with scallions, slivered almonds, and a small spoonful of hoisin dipping sauce. Repeat!

Notes

To make these more filling as an entree, serve with a side of white or brown rice, or even add a small scoop of rice to each lettuce wrap.

http://elizabethshome.com/light-chicken-lettuce-wraps/

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Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad

May 26, 2014 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Tender chicken, finely chopped lettuce, Asian cabbage and other veggies, tossed together and topped with crunchy peanuts and thick, creamy Thai peanut dressing. It’s the perfect dose of freshness that we’ve been needing after all of those winter meals. Dive into this Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad, and you can taste the freshness of summer in each bite.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! It has already been a very fun weekend around here! We’re trying to make the most out of our very last weekend as a family of FOUR! Lots of fun, family time, date nights, spoiling our kids, etc. Andrew and I had a great date night out on Friday! Yesterday we headed to the zoo for a little family fun, and after all of that walking around, Andrew treated me to a very relaxing and much needed pedicure. Today we had a great family fun day outside in the yard, playing and goofing around, and then after nap time, headed down to the pool for some swimming and more fun in the sun. Andrew even surprised me again today with two dozen gorgeous pink roses! What a great weekend so far!

With all of the blue skies and warm weather, I can’t wait to start enjoying some amazing summer meals. What could welcome the summer better than a fantastic new salad? I have been so excited to share this one!!!

A little side note: All of the recipes on my blog are my own, original creations, unless I tell you otherwise. That means that I basically spend a lot of my (few moments of) free time, brainstorming and playing around with recipe ideas and combinations. It also means that sometimes my great ideas just don’t work out, or need a few improvements or adjustments before they’re worth sharing. Sometimes however, I am happy to say that after scribbling and jotting down about 100 ideas for one recipe, there are times when my ideas are successful right off the bat! After seriously researching, and playing around with my ideas for the “perfect” Thai chicken salad, I am thrilled to say that this one is a clear WINNER!!!

Dive into this salad and you’ll feel like you’re dinning at a gourmet Thai restaurant. It’s everything that you have always wanted in a Thai chicken salad, but never thought you would ever dream of creating at home. This Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad is an explosion of textures and flavors that are sure to wow your taste buds, and your loved ones!

Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 4 strips (or tenderloins)

Marinade:

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Salad:

1 heart romaine lettuce, sliced (shaved) very thin
1 medium head napa cabbage (about 1 pound), sliced (shaved) very thin
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated (medium grate)
2 large (or 3 small) green onions, sliced very thin
1 red pepper, ends cut off, and cut into 1" long, thin matchsticks
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (plus more for serving)
3/4 cup chopped peanuts (for serving)

Creamy Thai Peanut Dressing:

1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Instructions

Place chicken in a gallon sized ziplock bag, and add to it: olive oil, honey, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, curry paste, and fish sauce. Close bag and shake to combine. Place bag on a clean plate, lined with a paper towel, and allow to marinate in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To assemble the salad, combine the romaine, cabbage, carrots, onions, red pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl and toss together. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To prepare the dressing, add to a blender: peanut butter, garlic, honey, lime juice, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and blend together until creamy and smooth.
After chicken has marinated, cook chicken in a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high-heat. Cook chicken until no longer pink in the middle, about 5-8 minutes. Move chicken to a clean plate, and once cool enough to handle, pull apart and shred chicken. Place shredded chicken in a clean bowl.
Serve salad topped with chicken, chopped peanuts and cilantro, and a hearty helping of peanut dressing. Enjoy!

http://elizabethshome.com/crunchy-thai-chicken-salad/

Szechuan Beef with Broccoli

March 7, 2013 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

One of my husband’s favorite meals is beef with broccoli. On one of our very first dates, probably date number 4, Andrew took me to one of his favorite Chinese restaurants, Szechuan Empire. He was so excited to share it with me and could hardly contain his excitement as he told me about his love for his all-time favorite Chinese dish. Before Andrew, this was not my usual Chinese dish, or even one that I had ever tried. However, I remember I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was.

I think it was a couple years back that I first got the idea to try and recreate Andrew’s favorite beef with broccoli at home. The first, probably six, attempts were yummy and did get eaten, but just weren’t quite there. It wasn’t until we filled our plates, and took our first bite of THIS recipe that we knew it was a winner!

Szechuan Beef with Broccoli

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Szechuan Beef with Broccoli

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs flank steak
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 heads broccoli, crowns only

Marinade:

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce:

2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
5 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the cornstarch, baking soda, sugar, soy sauce, water and oil, and whisk together. Slice the steak, against the grain, into thin strips (about 1/4" thick). Add the steak to the marinade mixture and toss until meat is well coated. Cover and refrigerate in bowl for 1-4 hours.
Wash and cut up broccoli into (a bit bigger than bite size) florets, and set aside in large bowl.
In a small bowl, add the flour and brown sugar and stir together. Then add the soy sauce and sherry. Whisk together until smooth. Stir in garlic, and set aside.
In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering. Add the broccoli, cover and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until "almost done". Return broccoli to clean large bowl.
Using the now empty pan, over medium-high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil. When shimmering, add the beef and half of the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through. Add the broccoli and the remaining sauce and stir together. Cook for 1-2 minutes more until the sauce is nice and thick.
Serve immediately over white or brown rice. Enjoy!

Notes

Be sure to use low-sodium soy sauce, otherwise the sauce will be too salty. If time allows, try to take the meat out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring to room temperature.

http://elizabethshome.com/szechuan-beef-with-broccoli/