CHINESE CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

SERVES:4

TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Tender Bibb lettuce leaves are soft enough to cradle other ingredients yet sturdy enough to hold together, and their naturally cupped shape begs you to fill them with something savory. Chinese chicken tender morsels of chicken and crunchy vegetables stir-fried in a deeply flavored sauce—is a favorite choice. Boneless chicken thighs brought far more flavor than ground chicken. Freezing them briefly and then pulsing them in a food processor and tossing them in a soy sauce–rice wine mixture achieved juicy texture. Tasters agreed that including both water chestnuts and celery was ideal. We also added shiitake mushrooms, garlic, and scallions. The stir-fry was as bold and complex as it was light, and it all came together in less than an hour. We suggest serving the Bibb lettuce leaves on the side, for fun tableside assembly. Salty-sweet hoisin sauce is the perfect accompaniment. You can substitute dry sherry for the Chinese rice wine.

INGREDIENTS:

CHICKEN

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

STIR-FRY

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
• ½ cup water chestnuts, cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated
• Hoisin sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

FOR THE CHICKEN

1. Place chicken on large plate in single layer and freeze until firm and beginning to harden around edges, about 20 minutes.
2. Whisk rice wine, soy sauce, oil, and cornstarch together in bowl.
3. Pulse half of chicken in food processor until chopped into approximate ¼-inch pieces, about 10 pulses.
4. Transfer to bowl with rice wine mixture and repeat with remaining chicken.
5. Toss chicken to coat and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

FOR THE SAUCE:

1. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl; set aside.

FOR THE STIR-FRY

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking.
• Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until opaque, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over high heat until smoking.
• Add celery and mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly, until mushrooms have reduced in size by half and celery is crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add water chestnuts, scallion whites, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Whisk sauce to recombine.
• Return chicken to skillet and add sauce, tossing to combine.
• Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with scallion greens.
• Serve with lettuce leaves and hoisin sauce.