Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

When you live in what sometimes feels like the hottest place on earth, you have to have a few cool-to-create dinner options. This Monday it was 95 degrees out and the LAST thing either Girls Team member felt like doing was turning the oven on or working over a hot stove. We both enjoy lettuce wraps, but have never made them ourselves so we thought this hot night was the perfect time to try to make them. We found this recipe for lettuce wraps from Rachael Ray, and we LOVED it. It was so flavorful and filling. After it was all said and done, we couldn't figure out why they are called "Barbecued" Lettuce Wraps since we didn't actually BBQ anything, but aside from that, they were great!

We decided to double the recipe as we were feeding five people, and wanted to have leftovers. Here's some of our ingredients:

Whoops. We quickly realized we forgot to buy mushrooms at the store, and they are a big part of the recipe! I went back out to Raley's and bought 4 cups of shiitake mushrooms.

Combining all of the ingredients in the wok was easy. Just throw the chicken in, let it cook for a bit, and add the rest according to the recipe. What we didn't realize how hot standing by the wok stirring for 10 minutes would be. So much for our cool dinner idea! But, here's a Make It Happen Monday fun fact: This electric wok is 28 years old! This vintage kitchen appliance was given to my parents as a wedding gift in 1984 :)



My mom added the Hoisin Sauce, which had a bit of a kick to it!

The final spread. The oranges were a sweet addition :)

Plated and ready to eat!

By the time we plated, the chicken and mushroom filling had cooled down considerably, making these lettuce wraps delicious and refreshing. The Hoisin sauce gave the wraps a little kick, and the lettuce was crisp and fresh. Everyone really loved these, and since we never eat lettuce wraps, it was fun to mix up our usual dinner routine. My dad suggested serving it with white rice next time (that guy and his rice!) but it wouldn't have made the dish a comfortable meal in the heat.  

For some reason Asian recipes often intimidate me. I think they just seem so much more intricate at first glance and often include ingredients that I'm unfamiliar with. But the recipe for these Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps was pretty straightforward. It took about 30 minutes from start to finish, and both Girls Team members were eager to make these again...soon!