Chicken in Lettuce Cups

Yes, I added a little cilantro, but thats just how I roll.

This reminds me a lot of PF Chang's lettuce cups, only not quite as salty.  My older daughter came home from school and gasped, "Ew, mushrooms? Mom, you know I don't like mushrooms."

"Ah, but last summer my dear, you tried one and you liked it - remember?"

"Okay I will try it."  She had a bite and said the mushroom tasted exactly like the chicken.  Well, yeah.  We could even make this totally vegan with some different kinds of mushrooms.  I am quite sure I would like it.

 Little hands getting busy.  They really had a lot of fun putting this together.

 

Some of the components.  I like to separate the lettuce because it is not necessarily easy to do this without tearing it.  This makes it so much easier.

Chicken in Lettuce Cups

2  tablespoons oil
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnuts, chopped
3 cups white mushrooms, chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion 

1 teaspoon minced garlic
leaves of iceberg lettuce

Drizzle Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard or dijon
2 teaspoons water
1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

(Make sure you are preparing your rice.  A very nice accompaniment.)

Before you begin, prepare your sauces.  You will be so happy you did this ahead of time.  Matter of fact,if you can do everything mise en place, then even better.  This will all go rather fast.
 
In a frying pan sauté the chicken thighs in 1 tablespoon of oil.  Cook through.  Remove from pan and let cool so you can cut it.  Unless you like playing with your kitchen scissors like me.  Then in the case, you don't even need to let them cool.


While the chicken is cooling, or not, sauté the mushrooms and onion in the remaining tablespoon of oil.When everything is looking nearly done, onion translucent, add in the garlic.  Then after a minute, the water chestnuts.  Add in your chopped chicken and to that add the stir fry sauce.  Basically its teriyaki, but we will call it stir fry sauce.

Remove from heat and place in individual bowls, like we did or one big bowl.  Make sure everyone had a little bit of sauce and some rice.  Build your little cups a heaping tablespoon of chicken, a heaping tablespoon of rice and a little bit of the drizzle sauce.  Roll it up and get a bite of that yumminess.