My Go-To Meal: Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

by Erica

Everyone has a go-to meal, right? The one meal for which you ALWAYS have the ingredients on hand. The meal you can whip up with one hand while the other folds laundry, plays Rainbow Unicorn with your preschooler and entertains your wee baby. Well, maybe that last part is just me. Still. You know what I'm sayin'.

My go-to meal is Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Only, without the lettuce wrapping. The first time I made it I used gorgeous butter lettuce leaves. It was divine. The cold, crisp lettuce contrasts so gloriously with the hot, crunchy cashew chicken; however, the above mentioned preschooler freaked out about the "SALAD!" so I started serving this over brown rice instead. I triple the amount of sauce so it's got more of a stir fry feel to it. Try it both ways. It's ridiculously easy and delicious either way you make it. It takes about 15 minutes start to finish if your chicken is already thawed.

(Some of the ingredients may not be things you have in your pantry on the reg, but the bottles last FOREVER. I've made probably 10 batches out my first bottles and still have plenty of rice vinegar left. I get my cashews from Costco and it's SO! MUCH! cheaper than the grocery store. It's really not as pricey and you think it's going to be off the bat.)

Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 2-⅓ Tablespoons Soy Sauce, Divided
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil (or Oil Of Choice)
• 2 pieces Chicken Breast (approx. 3/4 Lb. Total), Diced
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ¼ cups Cashews, Chopped
• 8 leaves Of Butterhead, Bib or other large leaf lettuce, Washed And Dried

For the sauce, mix together rice vinegar, brown sugar, ground red pepper, ground ginger, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, making sure to dissolve brown sugar. Set aside. (Triple these measurements if serving over rice instead of in lettuce leaves.)

Heat canola oil in pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add diced chicken and brown (about 4 to 5 minutes). Remove chicken from oil. Add onions and garlic to pan and remaining soy sauce (1/3 tbsp. or 1 tsp.) to pan; brown. When onions and garlic are brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken and cashews. Saute mixture for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves, wrap and devour! Add your favorite hot sauce, more cashews or soy sauce if you're feeling kicky.

{Photo credit: Tastykitchen.com}

Comments

[Dawn K.]

Perfect! I needed something somewhat healthy to make for dinner tonight, so I'll be trying this out!

[Dawn K.]

This was scrumptious!
1)No leftovers existed
2)My husband keeps asking when we're going to have it again, which almost NEVER happens.

Keep up the good work!

[Erica]

It makes me so happy to hear that you and your husband liked this!

[Cassidy]

We've made this twice and it's delicious! Thought I"d comment for myself to leave myself notes. :) Doubled the sauce, used 3-4 chick bsts, and only 2T of canola oil. This way when I look it up again, I"ll have my notes as to what I did. Regardless, it was great and a family hit!

[Kristabella]

I made this last night and it was FANTASTIC! I also doubled the sauce and added a bunch of veggies. SO GOOD!

[Lauren]

This was delicious! I made the regular recipe (no sauce increase), and it tasted perfect. My only complaint was that there was too little of it! I'm not sure how many people this recipe was supposed to feed, but three adults were left wanting more for dinner. I'll double the entire thing next time (and hope for a few leftovers for my lunch the next day!).