2
2 heads Boston lettuce
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp vegetable oil
500 g ground chicken
1 small onion
284-mL can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 small carrot
2 stalks celery
4 green onions
8 medium shiitake mushrooms
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp oyster sauce, or hoisin sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 cup bean sprouts, optional
Separate lettuce into leaves. Wash and pat dry. Refrigerate while preparing filling. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Without adding any oil, sprinkle in cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and garlic powder. Stir spices until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add oil, ground chicken and onion to pan. Stir often with a fork to keep mixture crumbly until chicken is no longer pink, from 4 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, coarsely chop water chestnuts. Grate or julienne carrot. Slice celery diagonally into 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) pieces. Finely chop green onions. Thinly slice mushrooms. Mushrooms should measure about 1 cup (250 mL).
When chicken is cooked, increase heat to high. Stir in water chestnuts, carrot, celery, green onions and mushrooms. Pour in water. Cook, uncovered and stirring often to develop flavour and reduce sauce, about 3 minutes. Stir in oyster sauce and sherry. Remove pan from heat. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Stir in bean sprouts, if using. Turn mixture into a serving bowl.
To serve, set bowl with chicken mixture in centre of a large platter and arrange lettuce around bowl. Or place a few lettuce leaves on a plate to make a cup, then fill with chicken. Or spoon 2 heaping tablespoons (30 mL) mixture onto centre of lettuce leaf, fold top part of leaf down over some of mixture, fold one open side over filling, then roll to enclose. The stalk end of lettuce leaf will still be open and filling will show. Serve with hoisin sauce for dipping or drizzle over chicken mixture once it is spooned onto lettuce.
Calories 319, Protein 22.8g, Carbohydrates 18.3g, Fat 16.9g, Fibre 4.1g, Sodium 328mg.
Dinner is all wrapped up in this fragrant stir-fry mixture using lower-fat ground chicken. After cooking, it's rolled in or heaped onto lettuce leaves to make a nutrient-rich meal. Try them at a buffet or informal family dinner.
Cooked chicken mixture will keep well, covered and refrigerated, overnight. If using bean sprouts, do not add them until after reheating chicken mixture.