For a quick and light lunch, my mom and I made chicken lettuce wraps. This dish is great for the summer because it is light and refreshing, and you can make it your own depending on what vegetables, garnishes, and dipping sauces you choose.
Today we used about 1/2 of an onion, 1/2 of a large carrot, a small handful of shitake mushrooms, and one can of water chestnuts.
All of the veggies were sautéed, first by themselves and then with ground chicken. Add some mirin, brown sugar, soy sauce, salt, black pepper, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic and fresh ginger.
Plate the final product in a nice serving bowl.
Wash and rip some Romaine leaves to serve as the vessel for the chicken filling. We picked some shiso and cilantro from our garden to serve as garnish. The dipping sauces we used were (from left to right) sesame ginger Japanese dressing, hoisin sauce, Thai sweet red pepper chili sauce, and Sriracha.
While I could certainly eat just lettuce and filling, the herbs and the sauces definitely add more layers of taste and excitement to the dish. It’s pretty simple, as long as you have the right ingredients, and it is visually appealing as well. This works great as either an appetizer or as a main course.