Chicken lettuce wraps

Recipe By: bridgette server
Serving Size: 8

1 head iceberg lettuce, or Bibb lettuce
1 package rice sticks, Budda Brand. prepared
1/4 cup vegetable oil

mushroom mixture:
6 medium dried shiitake mushrooms, really small ones
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained, minced
1/2 cup pickled cucumber, chinese style
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 stalks green onion, finely minced, separated white & green
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
2 small dried red chilies, optional, crushed

reserve sauce:
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons pickled cucumber, juice of (or 4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon mushroom seasoning powder, chinese style

chicken mixture:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground chicken, you can use pork or shrimp or dried bean curd

garnish sauce:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chinese hot mustard
1-3 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil



Soak lettuce in advance. Cut lettuce in half, then cut out the core. Then soak in ice water and drain on a paper towel until ready.

Boil water and then soak the dry black mushrooms in the water to cover for at least 30 minutes up to 3 hours or until soft.

Cut the rice noodles into manageable pieces about 1-2" with scissors. Prepare the rice noodles by heating oil and then adding a very small handful into the hot oil. They will puff up a lot. Make sure your oil is very hot, test with one noodle, it should immediately puff when put in the oil. Once puffed strain out and place on a paper towel.

To make the sauce, dissolve the sugar in the water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, hot mustard, garlic chili paste, and sesame oil; mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve the lettuce wraps. You can do this a week or two before.

Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, pickled cucumber juice, and the mushroom powder. Set aside.

Heat your plan and when hot place the two teaspoons of oil in the pan. Heat and then put the ground chicken in the pan and fully cook. Set aside. If doubling the recipe only do one pound at a time, unless you have a large pan.

Rinse and drain the mushrooms. Trim off and discard woody stems of mushrooms then set aside. Chop the following ingredients one at a time in a small food processor. First the mushrooms, then the water chestnuts, and then the pickles (save the juice).

Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add white part of the onion, ginger, and fresh chili if using and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Save the green part of the onion for garnish.

Add mushrooms, to the onion mixture and stir-fry for a second then add the pickles (save juice), and the water chestnuts. Stir-fry again to get everything combined and seasoned. Then add the cooked ground chicken, and the green part of the scallion. Stir and then pour in reserved sauce mixture. Simmer until combined and heated through. Remove the mixture to a serving dish.

To serve cover bottom of serving dish with the fried rice noodles. Place a few cooked rice noodles in lettuce leaf. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and then spoon the garnish sauce inside of a lettuce leaf and roll it up tightly like a wrap. Place wraps on top of noodles. Eat with your fingers.