Lettuce Wraps

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This is the only Asian meal that I cook. My mom used to make chop suey when we were kids... and I hated it. Every time she made it she would let me just eat the white rice. Which, looking at it from a parenting stand point, it was quite gracious of her. Now, I have an only white rice eater. Hmmm, what to do with him?

Anyway, this is one of my hubs favorite meals. If he sees lettuce wraps on a menu somewhere he has to try them. Then he will proceed to rate those wraps against all other wraps he has ever had. so naturally I had to try to find a recipe for our house. He always seems quite pleased with these and can eat at least 5-10 wraps in a night. I consider that a hit. I have to double this recipe and if you are feeding around 4-5 hearty eaters you will need to as well.

I had to purchase a few Asian products, but I had most of the ingredients at home. The main products you will need, and probably don't have unless you are a big Asian food family, are rice wine vinegar and Chinese hot mustard. So here it is:

You will need: 

• 2 T. butter or oil
• 2 Chicken breast or ground chicken breast ( I used the breast here, but the ground is definitely the way to go if you want to splurge on it).
• 1 c. water chestnuts
• 3 T. chopped onions
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 4-5 romaine lettuce leaves

Special Sauce

• 2 T. sugar
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. rice wine vinegar
• 1 T. ketchup
• 1 t. lemon juice
• 1/2 t. hot mustard
• 1t. water

Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1/2 t. rice wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix up the stir fry sauce and set aside.
2. Saute breasts or brown ground chicken. If using chicken breast, cut up into small cube size pieces.
3. Add onions, garlic, water chestnuts and stir fry sauce. Cook until onions are soft.
4. Make special sauce by dissolving sugar into water in a small bowl.
5. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, and lemon juice.
6. In a separate bowl combine hot mustard and water and stir well until it is smooth. Add mustard mixture to sauce right before you are ready to serve.
7. You can top you meat mixture with the special sauce or leave it is a small craft for people to pour over their wraps. Justin says the sauce makes this recipe. It is surprisingly sweet and tangy so make sure you get to this part.

I serve this with white rice and stir fry veggies and we pile it all in the lettuce like an Asian burrito. Take a look at my happy hubs!

Plate full of sauce. Just the way he likes it!

Justin: "Babe, I love you so much. Thank you for the great meal."

Krista: "You are welcome, Honey. Anything for you." 

Just a glimpse into the beautiful conversation that fills our home. 

It may have gone more like, Justin: "Why are you taking my picture, you weirdo?"

Krista: "For my blog, now SMILE!"