Week 23 - Quick Healthy Asian Lettuce Wraps

kcarl94
Jun 5, 2018
2 min read

Updated: Jun 19, 2018

What? No bread, grain, or filler at this meal?? Not today. I often have to think of wholefood "filler" to feed my ever growing boys. (or men) This wasn't one of those times. 2 lbs of ground chicken, half head of cabbage, carrots, peppers, and onions were filling enough. Well...not really. The boys were eating cereal within an hour! If you have growing kids you may want to cook some rice, egg rolls, or asian dumplings (freezer section of grocery store) to help fill them up. At restaurants this is served as an appetizer. For us aging adults it is quite enough for dinner.

Napa cabbage? What the heck is napa cabbage? It is a cabbage that has some characteristics of lettuce. The leaf is much more delicate. This makes it much more convienent for asian cooking. It cooks up quickly and has a less potent flavor. If your kids won't eat cabbage then try this variety. It is so much more palatable. Also, cabbage is super healthy. It is part of the cruciferous family. Some studies suggest we eat 1 serving daily from this family of vegetables because of its cancer fighting qualities. Other veggies in this family are broccoli, cauliflower, kale, arugula and brussel sprouts.

As for the sauce.....you can go buy any already made up sauce like teriyaki or schezwan. Keep in mind that schezwan is spicy.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

2 lbs ground chicken

1 T chopped garlic or sprinkle 1 t garlic powder

1/2 - 1 t onion powder

1/2 - 1 t ginger or chinese 5 spice

1/2 head napa cabbage

carrots (cut small)

colored peppers chopped

green onions

cilantro

sesame seeds

oil (optional)

Sauce

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1 T sesame seeds

1 - 2 T chopped garlic

1 - 2 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha

3 T Peach Jam (use whatever sweetener you want, add 1 T at a time. you may need more)

Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Let sit for at least 15 - 30 minutes for flavors to blend. It is all a matter of taste. You don't have to follow my directions. You can omit what you want. Or you can go buy some store bought sauce!

Put oil and garlic in pan on medium heat. Let cook for 1 minute. Add chicken, onion powder, ginger (or chinese 5 spice) and cook until done. Let all liquid cook off so the end product isn't watery. Put into bowl.

Add vegetables to pan and cook down for a couple minutes. Add chicken and 1/4 - 1/2 of sauce depending on how much you like. Sprinkle green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds on top.

Serve in lettuce cups. Add more cilantro if you like and lime.