This dish is similar to Larb Gai, the Thai dish made from minced chicken, fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, and fresh herbs. The combination of sweet, salty, tangy and spicy flavors makes it highly addictive. In fact with these Thai minced chicken lettuce cups, I have to force myself to put the leftovers in the fridge immediately before starting the dishes, otherwise, I’ll eat them straight from the pan while no one is watching! And did I mention it’s quick? You can walk in the door at six o’clock and be eating by six-thirty.
What you’ll need to make Thai Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups
As you can see from the photo, the recipe is inexpensive to make with ingredients found at your regular supermarket. You might have to search a bit for the fish sauce but most grocery stores carry it in the Asian foods aisle. Contrary to what you might expect, it doesn’t add a “fishy” taste, but rather a salty, savory flavor. If you’ve never cooked with it, I’ll warn you that it smells pretty bad (my kids RUN out of the kitchen when I use it) but please don’t let that deter you — it absolutely makes the dish! If possible, buy a brand imported from Thailand or Vietnam, and don’t worry about buying a large bottle; it keeps forever. (The brand I use is Tiparos, which is pretty strong. Some brands, like Kame, for example, are milder so you may need to add a bit more to get the desired flavor.)
The other Asian sauce in the recipe is Sriracha, the hot sauce named after the coastal city of Si Racha in Thailand, which you can also find it in the Asian foods aisle of most grocery stores.
How to make Thai Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups
Begin with the lettuce cups. Slice off the base stem of the lettuce, then run your knife around the inner core to remove.
Remove the flimsy, ragged outer leaves and submerge the head of lettuce in a bowl of water. The water will help you pull the leaves apart; if you try to pull them apart without the water, they will inevitably tear.
Place the lettuce cups on a paper towel to dry, then chill until ready to serve.
For the chicken, begin by cooking the onions and ginger in oil until soft.
Add the minced garlic and cook one minute more.
Add the ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart.
Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar and red pepper flakes, and cook until the chicken is done.
Finally, stir in the fresh cilantro, mint and nuts.
Spoon into lettuce cups and serve with finely sliced carrots, herbs and one of my favorite condiments, spicy Sriracha sauce. Enjoy!
You may also like
- Thai Red Curry Chicken
- Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut-Peanut Sauce
- Asian Chicken Noodle Salad with Ginger-Peanut Dressing
- Kung Pao Chicken
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