Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This recipe had both my husband and I literally licking our plates clean- it’s that good! This meal is low in carbs, but high in protein and healthy fats leaving you feeling satisfied at the end of the meal. I try to keep a lot of the ingredients for the sauce on hand at all times, as I really enjoy incorporating flavors of different Asian cuisines into my meals, and I love experimenting with my ingredients! I have tried SO MANY different combinations of ingredients to make homemade peanut sauces, and this one is definitely my favorite- and my husband’s too! This peanut sauce is spiced with both sriracha and gochujang, the latter of which originates from Korea, and also contains hoisin sauce, which hails from China. It also uses ginger, green onion, low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil, which all are often used in many different Asian cuisines!

Tips for buying healthier ingredients

• Peanut butter: look for peanut butter that has only peanuts (or peanuts and salt) listed on the ingredients list. This way you’d avoid any unnecessary added sugars!

• Soy sauce: look for the low sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos for a lower sodium option. Soy sauce can be extremely high in sodium, but you can achieve the flavors you desire with the low sodium versions! Compare nutrition labels for the sodium content, and choose the option that is lower in sodium for a meal that is more heart- healthy.

• Mayonnaise: I like to top my lettuce wraps with a spicy mayo dressing, but I choose to use mayonnaise made with olive oil which is lower in calories, total fat, and saturated fat!

Tips for preparing

• Carrots: You technically could buy pre-shredded carrots in a bag, however, I have done this before and it just doesn’t end up having the right texture in my opinion. It always ends up too hard and crunchy, when I prefer the carrots to end up softer and more incorporated into the meat. I would definitely recommend buying whole carrots, and shredding it yourself using a cheese grater! I use this cheese grater, and for my carrots I use the back side which has smaller holes for a thinner end-product.

• Green onions: chop up the whole stalk of green onion and save both the whites and the greens! Use the whites for cooking with the ground chicken, and use the greens for a delicious and colorful topping to the final prepared dish!

• Lettuce: Peel off any leaves of lettuce from the head of lettuce that you are planning to use right away before starting to cook the meat, that way it is ready to go when you are done cooking! Wash and dry your lettuce to remove dirt. Depending on how large your leaves are, 1 serving of the chicken would likely be able to fit into 1-2 leaves of lettuce.

PEANUT CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken

• 1 carrot, peeled and shredded

• 1-2 green onions, sliced (separate the whites and greens)

• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• ~4-6 leaves of Romaine lettuce

Peanut sauce ingredients:

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos

• 3 tbsp peanut butter

• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1/2 tsp gochujang

• 1/2 tsp sriracha

• 1/2 tsp brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Toppings:

• Greens of the green onion

• Sesame seeds

• Chopped peanuts

• Spicy mayo (mayo, sriracha, and water for your preferred consistency)

Instructions:

Peel and shred your carrot, then set aside. Slice your green onion stalks, separating the whites from the greens. Roughly chop a small handful of peanuts to use for toppings later. Remove any leaves of lettuce you are planning to use from a head of Romaine, then wash, pat dry, and set aside. If you are planning to use a spicy mayo for a topping, I would also prepare this now as well by combining mayo and sriracha in a small bowl, and stirring in water until you have your preferred drizzling consistency, then set aside. In a separate small bowl, combine all of the peanut sauce ingredients and stir until well combined, then set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp sesame oil to the pan, then add in the shredded carrot and the whites of the green onion. Stir until softened, ~2-3 minutes. Add in the ground chicken and cook thoroughly, breaking it up into small pieces throughout the cooking process, ~7-8 minutes or until it’s no longer pink. Use a large spoon to remove any excess liquid from the pan. Add in the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Reduce the heat to low, then add in the peanut sauce. Stir until fully combined. Remove from heat and serve immediately on Romaine lettuce. Add any of your desired toppings, and enjoy! Store any remaining chicken in a tupperware container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.