Cooking Lesson #30— Minced Chicken in Lettuce Wraps—Gai Soong

Gai Soong

How you doin’? Do you find that you have more time to test new recipes these days? Here’s one of my favorite lighter recipes from China Rose my Arlington, Texas restaurant—made with fresh American produce. 

I love minced chicken lettuce wraps. They are low in carbs and I can stuff my face without any guilt whatsoever. This is the easiest, quickest, healthiest meal you could ever make. If you have good moves in the kitchen, you can easily get this on your dinner table in less than 15 minutes. Plus, it’s budget friendly, too! You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed.
 

Prep time:  9 minutes
Cook time:  6 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
 
For the lettuce cups
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves separated into cups and washed
 
For the Gai Soong stir-fry sauce
1 tablespoon sherry wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
 
For the chicken filling
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3/4 cup chicken, uncooked, minced (thigh meat recommended; see ChefSecret)
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/3 cup fresh oyster or brown mushrooms, minced
2/3 cup bamboo shoots, minced
2/3 cup water chestnuts, minced
2/3 cup celery, minced
1 teaspoon red jalapeño peppers, minced
1/3 cup green onions, minced (tops and bottoms)
 
Directions

1. Pull the lettuce “cups” from the iceberg lettuce head; wash and set aside to dry.
2. Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
3. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large sauté pan.
4. Add the chicken, garlic and ginger; stir-fry for about 3 minutes, breaking the chicken into small pieces.
5. Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, celery, and red peppers; stir fry for 2 minutes longer.
6. Add the prepared stir-fry sauce and green onions.
7. Stir-fry together for about 30 seconds.
8. Transfer to a platter with washed and dried lettuce cups and serve with your favorite Asian condiments.

ChefSecret: 

• Be sure to give the stir fry sauce a quick stir before adding it the wok.
• You can use chicken breast meat if you like, but I prefer to use thigh meat as it remains more moist and flavorful during the stir-fry process. Can also be made with shrimp, beef, pork or tofu.
  
• You can use romaine leaves if that’s what you have on hand, but they’re not as easy to eat.
  

#LettuceWraps #Chicken #GaiSoong #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen

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