The Willett Family

Recently, my wife has gotten me on the band wagon of eating better so I can loose some weight.  I recently had lettuce wraps at Saul Good in Lexington.  They were really good and I wanted to make something similar at home.  I found a couple recipe’s and decided to combine them for a light lettuce wrap meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely diced
• 1/4 head of fresh cabbage sliced in thin strips
• 3 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 1.5 lb. chicken breast
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup Chinese plum sauce
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot chili paste
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted cashews, chopped
• 1 head iceberg lettuce

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and put 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet.  Put the chicken breasts in the skillet, browning both sides.  Once both sides are browned, cover with a lid and lower the heat to medium-low until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove the chicken and allow to cool.  Once cooled, chop the chicken into fine pieces.

Increase the heat on the skillet to medium high.  Add enough oil to the skillet to coat.  Once the oil begins to smoke, add the carrots, celery, bell pepper, water chestnuts, cabbage, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper.  Cook for about 5 – 8 mintes, or until vegetables are soft.  Once the vegetables get soft, add the chopped chicken back and reheat with the vegetables for a minute.  Then add the plum sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and chili paste to the skillet.  Stir to mix in with the vegetables and chicken.  Once everything is thoroughly coated, remove from the heat.  Dish the vegetables into a bowl and cover with the cashews.

Clean the lettuce and break off enough individual leaves for the meal.  Serve the chicken and vegetables in the individual lettuce cups.

Makes a wonderful low calorie/healthy meal!