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Saturday, May 15, 2010

Chicken Satay Lettuce Wraps



I saw these on Rachael Ray the other day and just HAD to try them. If you've been to PF Changs, or some other fancy Chinese bistro, then you've probably seen lettuce wraps on the menu. You've also probably seen the price, which is around $8.00. Okay now, doesn't that seem just a little ridiculous? The appetizer is made from: chicken, lettuce, sauce. Okay seriously, eight bucks?! Chicken, lettuce, sauce. Chicken is extraordinarily cheap (I'm talking $3/pound and that's for chicken breasts, you could use a cheaper cut), lettuce is standard in a kitchen, and the sauces are made from ingredients already in your own pantry. Oh also, they don't even put it together for you! You choose your sauce, the lettuce is separate from the chicken; all the chefs really did was cook the chicken for you. You can get crab wontons (which sound much more complicated) for less money. Nonetheless, you're in luck! I happen to have an amazing recipe for said wraps ^_^

Original recipe can be found here, but I'll list what I used also.

What you'll need:
adapted from Rachael Ray
  • tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 medium chicken breasts (I'm guessing about a pound, or 1 1/2 lbs. once cleaned and sliced)
  • pepper
  • 1/4 pound baby bella mushroom caps, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste (the jarred kind)
  • cilantro, about 1/8 cup chopped, divided
  • 2 heaping tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • sriracha hot sauce, to taste
  • 1 head iceburg lettuce, core removed, pull into large pieces
  • red cabbage, sliced, to garnish
  • toasted sesame seeds to garnish
To begin, place a large skillet on medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. The breasts I used were on MEGA sale last month, I think it was like $5 for a bag of 4 decent sized chicken breasts (with coupon) so I got a bag of breasts and a bag of tenders. Why didn't I steal coupons and buy more?! I digress, thinly slice or chop your chicken and add to the pan. Season with black pepper. Once browned, flip and continue cooking the other side. While your chicken is cooking prep your mushrooms, cilantro, and lettuce. Measure out all your sauce ingredients and get ready to throw them in. Before you add the sauce stir in the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger and cook for an addition few minutes. Once your chicken has browned, add your peanut butter to the pan and let it warm up and start to thin out. Add the rest of the ingredients through the hot sauce. You want to save half of the cilantro to garnish the chicken once it's cooked.  Continue to stir and cook down the sauce until it's thickened up nicely. You don't want a super runny sauce since lettuce will be what is holding the dish together. To garnish my chicken I used the rest of my cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, and red shredded cabbage ^_^




3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious! I had the overpriced P.F. Changs version for a birthday one year...YUM. Thanks for sharing an affordable homemade version!

Lori said...

Yum! I gonna have to try these out. My mouth is watering :)

Leslie said...

ohhh these look perfect and mouth watering!