Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the answer to the “I love take out but am trying to eat healthier!” dilemma we all face once in a while. This take-out fake-out dish tastes like it came straight from a restaurant, yet is light, gluten free, and low carb too!
Chopped chicken and fresh vegetables are stir fried then simmered in a killer Kung Pao sauce which boasts that signature sweet heat. The mixture is piled onto fresh lettuce leaves, versus a big pile of rice, then sprinkled with chopped peanuts. They’ve got the perfect amount of heat, the perfect amount of sweet, and the chopped peanuts gives the dish such a satisfying crunch. On top of all that they’re really easy to make, as many stir fried dishes are. I can’t wait for you to try them!
Start by making the Kung Pao sauce which calls for a few of my favorite, far-east sauce ingredients I always keep in the house: mirin, a sweet cooking wine (if you can’t find it sub in Riesling wine,) chili garlic sauce, there should be several brands at the store to choose from, and rice vinegar, which is also a common grocery store find.
Combine the aforementioned ingredients with gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce if not GF), sesame oil, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, stir 1/4 cup water into 1 Tablespoon corn starch, then pour into the tamari mixture and stir to combine. Sauce = done!
Next chop up 1lb chicken. I chop mine finely to get the real restaurant experience, plus it’s easier to pile high onto lettuce leaves that way.
Add the chicken to a big bowl then stir in 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari and 1 Tablespoon corn starch and mix until every piece of chicken is coated.
Time to get cookin’! Heat 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil in a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add the chicken and stir fry until cooked through, and then remove to a plate.
Next, stir fry the veggie portion of the program which includes 1/2 an 8oz can sliced water chestnuts that have been chopped, 1 small chopped zucchini, and 2 chopped green onions.
Heat an additional Tablespoon vegetable oil in the wok then add all the veggies and stir fry until crisp tender. Add 1 clove minced garlic then stir fry for 30 more seconds.
Finally, add the chicken back into the wok with the sauce then let the whole thing bubble until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Let the Kung Pao chicken mixture cool for a few minutes then pile into lettuce leaves and top with chopped peanuts. I use butter lettuce cups for these wraps, but also love them with plain ol’ iceberg lettuce leaves. Whatever you decide, open wide!
I cannot stress to you how mouthwatering these wraps are – make them ASAP!
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