Lettuce Wraps

This is one of my family's favorite meal. Lettuce Wraps! I made a ton of it this week. I was pretty sure we would have leftovers. In the end, Lster decided to eat half of it (7 lettuce wraps) and Cster left the table hungry. I guess the boys eating us out of house and home has begun.

Here is the recipe. I got it off the web over a year ago and don't know the source. I've tweaked it a bit too.

PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps

3 tablespoons oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water chestnut (I don't always add this)

²⁄₃; cup mushroom (I don't add this)

Any amount of cut up vegetables (ie: carrots, celery, bell peppers)

3 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Cooked rice

iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce

¼ cup sugar

½ cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¹⁄₈; teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon hot mustard (I actually use french's regular)

2 teaspoons water

1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions:

Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool. (I cut up the chicken and just cook it cut up as I never think ahead to make the chicken and cool it before needing it for dinner) Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas as well as all your other vegetables.

Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are cooking. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan. Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups". I add cooked rice to the mix at the end to make it more filling and more of a meal than an appetizer. Top with "Special Sauce". You won’t need all the sauce.