Thai Lettuce Wraps

For those that are looking for a delicious way to eat gluten free, look no further. These lettuce wraps are also a great way to cut back on a few calories and carbs. This is a great change of pace meal that you can make without much effort. Only about 30 minutes of actually prep and cooking, with some added time to marinate the chicken.

Ingredients :

(for marinade)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce (make sure to buy a gluten free brand if that’s your goal)

1/4 cup (light) soy sauce (same as above)

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 tsp Sriracha

1 large clove of garlic , minced

3 boneless/skinless chicken thighs (about 1/2 lb.), cut into small strips (can substitute chicken breast, pork or shrimp even)

(for wraps)

1/4 cup (thinly sliced) red pepper, about 1/4 of a bell pepper

1/4 cup shredded red cabbage

1/4 cup julienned carrots

1/4 cup bean sprouts

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup (or about 1/3) of an English cucumber, thinly sliced

6 butter lettuce leaves

1 tbsp crushed peanuts

1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

(for finishing sauce)

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

Directions :

Combine all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and mix well. Place chicken strips in marinade. Refrigerate for an hour (or more if desired), stirring once or twice to make sure it is all well coated. While waiting for chicken to marinate, take you bean sprouts, carrots, red peppers and cabbage and toss in a separate bowl with the balsamic vinegar. Mix well. In another bowl prepare your finishing sauce by stirring together all 3 ingredients. Remove bowl of chicken from fridge 15 minutes before cooking and discard the marinade. Chicken thigh strips are small so they should only take a few minutes (2-3 per side) to cook over medium heat. To crush the peanuts I just take whole peanuts in a small ziplock bag and smash with a mallet. You can let everyone assemble their own buffet style or you can prepare them all yourself by placing a small amount of each of the slaw, cucumber slices, chicken strips, cilantro, peanuts and finishing sauce on a lettuce leaf. Serves 2-3