Have you ever had lettuce cups? They’re a cute and fun way to hold delicious fillings. I first saw them made with a Chinese ground meat filling but you could use any variety of ingredients and flavours. One good option would be Mexican-inspired with taco seasoning and then tomato and avocado as garnish.

My lettuce cups today are on the more traditional side with a filling made of ground chicken and Asian flavours. I seasoned it with sesame oil, hoisin sauce, sriracha, garlic, ginger and orange zest. It was sweet and sticky and just a little spicy.

To make these more substantial and not just a side dish, I put some cooked ramen noodles under the ground chicken filling. You could skip that step if you wanted a lighter meal, but I enjoyed their addition to these cups. Then I garnished with some cucumber, green onion and sesame seeds. Those added a good amount of extra crunch and freshness.

These were so delicious. I love the nice chicken filling with the crunchy veggies. The one downside of these cups is that they are very messy and lose their structure as soon as you take a bite. It’s so worth it though, you will love them!

If you wanted to make this but didn’t want the lettuce cup, you could always just make a noodle bowl with the saucy chicken and the veggies on top. That would be super tasty and much easier to eat.

***

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (GF: ensure GF sauce)
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 2 tsp orange zest
• Boston lettuce leaves
• 1 pack ramen noodles, cooked (GF: use rice noodles or other GF noodle)
• 1/4 cup cucumber, sliced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• Sesame seeds, garnish

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 7-8 minutes. Be sure to break up any large chunks.
2. Add sesame oil, hoisin sauce, sriracha, garlic, ginger and orange zest. Cook 2 more minutes until fragrant.
3. Lay boston lettuce leaves on platter. Put a few cooked ramen noodles in each one, followed by a couple spoonfuls of the chicken mixture.
4. Garnish with cucumber, green onion and sesame seeds. Serve hot or room temperature.