Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Thai Chile-Lime Sauce

Lettuce wraps make an easy, casual dinner, and the ingredients are as versatile as they are flavorful. For this recipe, I kept the wraps light with lean ground chicken breast and a few fresh vegetables.

By itself, ground chicken doesn’t impart much flavor, so some aromatics are in order. I cooked the meat quickly with a little garlic, ginger, scallion, and chiles to add both taste and fragrance, then finished the filling with earthy shiitake mushrooms to give the dish more depth. It all cooks up in less than 15 minutes.

No matter how tasty the filling is, wraps still beg for sauce. If you’ve read very many recipes on this blog, you know I’m no stranger to heat—but flavorful heat, of course. (Hot for the sake of hot is just hot. And silly.)

Thai is one of my favorite cuisines, and the sauce here is based on common Thai ingredients: ginger, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, and those delectable tiny Thai chiles. It’s loaded with flavor but a little goes a long way—a tablespoon or so per wrap is all you need.

You can divide the sauce into individual small bowls to use for dipping, or simply pass the bowl at the table to let your guests spoon it over the filling before wrapping the lettuce around it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Sauce

• 2 Thai chiles, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp ground fresh chile paste (sambal oelek)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 tsp sugar

For the Wraps

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 red fresno chiles, chopped
• 2 Thai chiles, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 lb ground chicken breast
• 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (stems removed)
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8 large Boston lettuce leaves
• steamed white rice, for serving (optional)

Aromatics for the Ground Chicken 

Shiitake Mushrooms

Preparation

For the Sauce

1. Place all ingredients in a mini-processor and process until smooth. Place in a small bowl and set aside. (May be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Chiles, Garlic, and Ginger

Thai Chile-Lime Sauce

For the Wraps

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the next 7 ingredients (through chicken) and cook, breaking up the meat, 5 minutes. 
2. Add the shiitake mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 7-8 minutes. 

Chicken Mixture Beginning to Cook

Mushrooms Added

Cooked Chicken Mixture

1. Remove from the heat and let cool 10 minutes. (Cooling slightly helps keep the lettuce from wilting too quickly.)

To serve, place the chicken mixture in a bowl and serve with lettuce leaves and sauce to let your guests build their own wraps. Serve with sides of steamed rice, if desired.