Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Years ago my family and extended family got together at PF Changs to celebrate my brother Todd's thirtieth birthday.   It was my first experience having their food.   We had the chicken lettuce wraps and oh my goodness they were so delicious!   I've thought about those wraps and made them once or twice since then but this is my first time making them and sharing the recipe with all of you.   I've changed and streamlined the process a little.   I used whole chicken thighs, but you could substitute with preground chicken.   Instead of iceberg lettuce, I opted for the pliable butter lettuce but if you like the crunchy lettuce then use iceberg.   These were very delicious and a quick weeknight meal choice.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (1 1/2 lbs ground chicken)

6 Cloves Peeled Garlic 

1 Vidalia Onion

1 Orange Bell Pepper

2 Heads Butter Lettuce

1 Cup Hoisin Sauce

1 Tablespoon Sriracha Sauce

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

2 Teaspoons Cornstarch

2 Teaspoons Cold Water

Sesame Seeds

Process:

Cut the bell pepper into large chunks, peel and cut the onion into quarters.  Pulse the vegetables in a food processor into a rough dice.  Cut the chicken thighs into quarters, add to the food processor.  Process on high until chicken is ground and mixed with vegetables.  

Blend hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar in a blender. Reserve 1/2 cup of sauce in a separate container.

Cook meat mixture over medium-high heat until meat is browned, add remaining sauce and reduce until thickened.  After it has reduced by half add a slurry of the cornstarch and water blended together. Remove from heat and serve spoonfuls in lettuce leaves with drizzled reserved sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

I explained in my Panko Bread Crumb post, that my son was wanting chicken nuggets with bread crumbs. When I make chicken nuggets with Panko bread crumbs, I bake them instead of frying them. This recipe actually evolved to a whole new level since I totally made a mistake.  Good news though, my mistake turned out to be a huge success with my picky son and my Chinese teenager who said he doesn't like chicken.  Want to know my mistake?  I bought chicken thighs instead of chicken tenders. The benefits of the chicken thighs as my family found out are they are more moist and they almost melt in your mouth versus the sometimes dry and dense chicken tenders.

 Baked Chicken Nuggets, so much better than those nuggets sold at the store.

Pre-heat Oven to 425 Fahrenheit

Ingredients for this recipe are:

2 cups Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs (Recipe found Here)

2 Eggs

1 cup Flour

6 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs

Cut chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces.

Beat eggs in a large dish.

Place chicken and flour in a gallon size Ziploc bag and shake to coat.

Pour bread crumbs into large dish.

Dip floured chicken into egg mixture.

Move chicken from egg mixture to Panko Bread Crumbs and coat.

 Place chicken on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake chicken for 15-20 minutes.

 Remove from oven and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Printable Recipe Found Here

2 cups Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs

2 Eggs

1 cup Flour

6 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs

Pre-heat Oven to 425 Fharenheit

Cut chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces.

Beat eggs in a large dish.

Place chicken and flour in a gallon size Ziploc bag and shake to coat.

Pour bread crumbs into large dish.

Dip floured chicken into egg mixture.

Move chicken from eg mixture to Panko Bread Crumbs and coat.

Place chicken on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Baked chicken for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Enjoy!