Friday, January 30, 2015

Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I'm a big fan of a crunchy lettuce wrap...those pork lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's with the customized dipping sauce are one of my favorites.  These wraps take things in a Korean direction with delicious marinated chicken, sesame seeds, and crispy veggies.  They make for a light but filling dinner, and come together quickly as long as you remember to marinate the chicken the night before (it needs at least two hours).  The one tricky ingredient here is gochujang sauce, which I wasn't able to find.  The recipe recommends subbing in a mixture of Sriracha and white miso, but I also struck out on miso (shopping at Trader Joe's has it's benefits, but finding specific sauces is not one of them).  I ended up using a mixture of Sriracha and fish sauce for a funky element, and although it may not have been authentic, it was really tasty!  If you make this with the real deal, definitely let me know how it is!


Korean Chicken Lettuce Wraps (adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 4

2-1/2 T lower-sodium soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1-1/2 T dark sesame oil
1 T gochujang sauce (see above for substitutions)
1 T minced fresh garlic
A few grinds of black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
Oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

To serve:
Cooked brown rice (or another whole grain - quinoa would be awesome)
Bibb lettuce, iceburg lettuce, or romaine lettuce leaves
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced scallions

1. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, dark sesame oil, gochujang sauce, garlic, and pepper in a large Ziplock bag.  Mush together, and then transfer 2 T to a small bowl and set aside.
2. Add the chicken to the Ziplock back and seal.  Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. When ready to cook, first get all your assembly items ready -- cook or heat up rice, separate lettuce leaves, and slice veggies.
4. Then, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add a drizzle of oil to the pan and then add the chicken, shaking off excess marinade as you go.  Saute, about 4-6 minutes total, until cooked through.  Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and stir to combine.
5. Build your lettuce wraps! Start with a lettuce leaf, add a spoonful of brown rice, several cucumber slices, about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture, and a sprinkle of scallions.  Top with a drizzle of the reserved marinade (it goes without saying, but do not reuse any of the marinade that touched the raw chicken -- you're using the bit you set aside before adding the chicken).  Fold over the edges of the lettuce and eat!


3 comments:

  1. Great looking lettuce wraps. Nice I want some!

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  2. I adore lettuce wraps - that perfect combo of cool and crisp with hot and spicy - yum. This version sounds particularly tasty. I've never come across gochujang sauce here, but substitute ingredients are readily available, so I'm sure I can pull this off.

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  3. I so love a good lettuce wrap! These sound super tasty!

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