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Dinner Tonight: Minced Chicken in Lettuce Cups
After bumbling through the fridge for a few seconds, I laid eyes on a half-chicken and some Boston lettuce. Though the inspiration was quick, locating a recipe for "chicken lettuce cups" wasn't so easy. Suffice to say, when searching for the recipe the first 50 or so links mention P.F. Chang's within a sentence or two. No big surprises. That's where I, and probably a few million other people, had their first experience with this combo.
Unfortunately, the recipes I found looked suspicious. Most of them used ground chicken, which immediately turned me off. Eventually I wanted to know if this was an actual recipe or just something the chain created to deal with the Atkins diet craze a few years back.
I found my first clue in this Saveur article, which had a "minced chicken in lettuce cups" recipe adapted from a "famous Cantonese recipe for squab." And sure enough, after modifying my search to "quail lettuce cups" I ran across this recipe from Ming Tsai. Combining the two and utilizing the leftovers in my fridge, I created my own version. I'm sure the authentic choice of squab is best, but this chicken version was still delicious.
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Dinner Tonight: Minced Chicken in Lettuce Cups
About This Recipe
| Yield: | 2 |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken, skin removed and bones removed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 cup water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
- 2 scallions, white part diced and green part chopped
- 1 cup cremini mushroom, chopped
- 8 leaves Boston, bibb, or iceberg lettuce
- Salt and pepper
Procedures
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1
Finely dice the chicken. I found a meat cleaver to work best, though a chefs knife will work, too.
-
2
Pour the oil into a work or large iron skillet set over high heat. Add the ginger and scallion whites and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Dump in the chicken and mushrooms. Continue stirring, breaking up the chicken pieces, and cook for about a minute, or until the chicken is white and no longer raw. Pour in the oyster sauce and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently.
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3
Remove from the heat and add the scallion greens and chopped water chestnuts. Stir until everything is combined. Season with salt if necessary. Fill each lettuce cup with a little bit of the mixture and serve.
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