Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Rotisserie Chicken Recipe}
Rotisserie chicken, roast chicken, grilled, baked, or sautéed – If you have cooked chicken, you’re halfway to eating a plate full of chicken lettuce wraps. Fold the chicken into a rich Asian sauce flavored with ginger, soy, chili, garlic, vinegar, and honey, and served serve with crisp lettuce leaves, chili garlic sauce, and roasted peanuts for a quick, intensely satisfying meal.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps have been a staple meal in our house for years, and, years, and years. I think could eat them every day for a month and still not be tired of them. My 20-something son would agree, having learned how to make these immediately after moving into his first apartment. There’s just SO much about chicken lettuce wraps to love…
- They are super quick. If you have the ingredients on hand, you could be eating chicken lettuce wraps in under 15 minutes. Speaking of having the ingredients on hand…
- I almost always do. Have {most of} the ingredients on hand. Aside from the chicken and lettuce, the ingredients are pantry staples for any of us who make dishes with Asian flavors every now and then. And, as for the lettuce and chicken…
- Both can be picked up at most grocery stores as the mood strikes. Often, you can find little packages of “lettuce boats” in the produce section that are simply large Romain lettuce leaves washed and ready to fill. I love these because they are, as I just mentioned, washed and ready to fill. But, a head or two of Romain or iceberg lettuce works just as well. As for the chicken…
When I first started making Chicken Lettuce Wraps, I used ground chicken. This is still a great option, except… my local market doesn’t always have ground chicken in stock. And, speaking of first world problems (which I know we weren’t, but now we are), staring at the section of the meat case that should contain ground chicken but doesn’t when all I want is chicken lettuce wraps RIGHT NOW is traumatizing.
Ok. It’s not traumatizing at all. Not even close. It’s mostly just irritating in that absurd kind of way that makes me grateful for a life in which things like ground chicken not being in stock can even be irritating.
Anyhoo… it doesn’t even matter because making chicken lettuce wraps with rotisserie chicken (or any kind of leftover chicken) is MUCH tastier, faster, and easier.
Rotisserie Chicken, Roast Chicken, Grilled, Baked, or Sautéed Chicken
If you have cooked chicken, you’re halfway to eating a plate full of chicken lettuce wraps. Roast Chicken, Cajun Chicken, Grilled Chicken, Paprika Chicken, Honey Chicken…. ALL of these have found themselves remade into chicken lettuce wraps in my kitchen.
You can also just pick up a rotisserie chicken at your local market. Pull the chicken from the bones and dice it into very small pieces. Whisk together the sauce, toss it in, and you’re done.
Peanuts and Chili Garlic Sauce
You can, of course, eat chicken lettuce wraps without salty roasted peanuts and chili garlic sauce. But, why would you want to??? The salty crunch of peanuts and the spicy heat of chili garlic sauce are brilliant over the tangy chicken and cool, crispy lettuce leaves. Just two requests:
- The peanuts should be both salted and roasted.
- Select a brand of chili garlic sauce that’s spicy without trying to kill you. You want to be able to add enough to taste the chili without burning your face off. This is the brand I like, having tasted many others over the years that were delicious, but requiring a fire hose to cool off your tongue if you dared add more than a drop.
Even using the not super crazy spicy chili garlic sauce, I nearly always make these too spicy. My poor family… Chili garlic sauce is just so good. I’m obsessed with the stuff, and despite my best intentions, I can hardly help myself from adding too much. If you have a low tolerance for spicy foods, go easy on the chili garlic sauce, and consider using regular sesame oil in stead of chili sesame oil.
Serve the wraps with extra chili garlic sauce on the side for people like me who can’t get enough of the stuff and are willing to put up with a burning mouth in order to pile on as much as they can stand.
One final note…
Chicken Lettuce Wraps are absolutely delicious with a Pomegranate Ginger Spritzer. Just in case you needed an excuse for a cocktail tonight. 🍸😉
Used in this Recipe:
Weekly Meal Plans that include Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
More Simple and Delicious Recipes:
- 20-Minute Garlic Chipotle Pasta {with or without chicken}
- Paprika Chicken and Rice Bowls
- Steak Salad Wraps
- Vegetarian Chili with Pico de Gallo and Chimichurri Sauce
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps {Rotisserie or Leftover Chicken Recipe}
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp chili sesame oil (use regular sesame oil, or a combination of the two, if you want a less spicy dish)
- 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey
- 2–4 tbsp chili garlic sauce (depending on how spicy you like your lettuce wraps) – plus more for serving
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 4 cups diced cooked chicken (leftover roast, grilled, or baked chicken – OR rotisserie chicken)
- 8 oz water chestnuts, diced
- 1 bunch of green onions, white and light green parts sliced thin
- 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Large romaine lettuce leaves (plan on 3 per person)
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, and chili garlic sauce to a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Set a large saucepan on the stovetop and heat over medium until hot. Add the sesame oil or vegetable oil, letting the oil heat for about 5 seconds. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the soy sauce mixture. Cook, staring constantly, until the peanut butter is melted and the sauce looks homogenous. Taste and add more salt or chili garlic sauce if you like.
- Add the diced chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the water chestnuts and sliced green onions.
- Serve chicken mixture with lettuce leaves, roasted peanuts, cilantro, and additional chili garlic sauce.
Notes
If you’re making this as a part of Spring Meal Plan #3, you should have leftover Cajun Chicken in your refrigerator just for these Lettuce Wraps. If not, no worries. You have options: Go ahead and make some Cajun Chicken, making only the chicken or the whole meal, reserving the leftovers for these Lettuce Wraps. You can also add 2 pounds of ground chicken to the skillet with the onions, cooking the chicken and onions together until the chicken is cooked through. Another great option is to pick up a rotisserie chicken at your local market, dice the meat, and use that instead.
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