Chrissy Teigen's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hi friends and Happy Hump Day!

So I finally made a dish from Chrissy Teigen's cookbook Cravings.  I have to admit when I first saw her on Lip Synch Battle, I thought she was super annoying.  As I kept watching the show and saw her on random interviews, she actually seemed cool and she kinda grew on me. lols   I started following her instagram last year mainly for her food.  She may not be a professional chef but her stuff looks deeeelish!  So when her cookbook came out, I had to get it.   I made her lettuce wraps and they did not disappoint!  If you are a Chrissy Teigen fan or a food lover, I think you'll like her cookbook :-)



Here's the lil guy helping me make the sauce.  Doesn't he look like a well behaved 22 month old stirring away patiently?  Don't let him fool you, 5 minutes later he started splashing with the spoon and that was the end of his sous chef job.



Ta daaaaaa....


Chrissy Teigen's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
For the Sauce:
3 TBS Thai sweet chili sauce
3 TBS hoisin sauce (did you know there's gluten in this?!!!  I didn't realize until I already put 1 TBS in it. Hubs is trying to go gluten free but 1 TBS won't kill him)
3 TBS light soy sauce (I used gluten free)
2 TBS sriracha
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1.5 TBS unseasoned rice vinegar
2 TBS minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1 TBS minced fresh ginger

For the Filling:
1 pound ground chicken
3 TBS vegetable oil  (I didn't want this much oil  since there was already a lot in the sauce so I just squirted a  little in the pan)
8 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens kept separate - I didn't have any scallions
1 TBS minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 TBS minced fresh ginger
1/2 pound white mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely diced canned water chestnuts
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated and washed

Directions:
Make the Sauce:  In a bowl, combine the chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, sriracha, vegetable oil, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, and ginger

Make the Filling: In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the sauce into the ground chicken.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the chicken and cook until browned for 5-6 minutes.  Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, then add the scallion whites, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until they release their liquid, 3-4 minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan, then add the water chestnuts, bell pepper, and the rest of the sauce and cook, stirring, until cooked through and the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly, 3-4 minutes.  Stir in the scallion greens.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set out with the lettuce leaves.