Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps taste like they came straight out of a restaurant, yet are light, low carb, and gluten free.
Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the answer to the “I love take out but am trying to eat healthier!” dilemma we all face once in a while.
This take-out fake-out dish tastes like it came straight from a restaurant, yet is light, gluten free, and low carb too!
Chopped chicken and fresh vegetables are stir fried then simmered in a killer Kung Pao sauce which boasts that signature sweet heat. The mixture is piled onto fresh lettuce leaves, versus a big pile of rice, then sprinkled with chopped peanuts.
They’ve got the perfect amount of heat, the perfect amount of sweet, and the chopped peanuts gives the dish such a satisfying crunch.
On top of all that they’re really easy to make, as many stir fried dishes are. I can’t wait for you to try them!
Start by making the Kung Pao sauce which calls for a few of my favorite, far-east sauce ingredients I always keep in the house: mirin, a sweet cooking wine (if you can’t find it sub in Riesling wine,) chili garlic sauce, there should be several brands at the store to choose from, and rice vinegar, which is also a common grocery store find.
Combine the aforementioned ingredients with gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce if not GF), sesame oil, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, stir 1/4 cup water into 1 Tablespoon corn starch, then pour into the tamari mixture and stir to combine. Sauce = done!
Next chop up 1lb chicken. I chop mine finely to get the real restaurant experience, plus it’s easier to pile high onto lettuce leaves that way.
Add the chicken to a big bowl then stir in 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari and 1 Tablespoon corn starch and mix until every piece of chicken is coated.
Time to get cookin’!
Heat 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil in a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add the chicken and stir fry until cooked through, and then remove to a plate.
Next, stir fry the veggie portion of the program which includes 1/2 an 8oz can sliced water chestnuts that have been chopped, 1 small chopped zucchini, and 2 chopped green onions.
Heat an additional Tablespoon vegetable oil in the wok then add all the veggies and stir fry until crisp tender. Add 1 clove minced garlic then stir fry for 30 more seconds.
Finally, add the chicken back into the wok with the sauce then let the whole thing bubble until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Let the Kung Pao chicken mixture cool for a few minutes then pile into lettuce leaves and top with chopped peanuts. I use butter lettuce cups for these wraps, but also love them with plain ol’ iceberg lettuce leaves. Whatever you decide, open wide!
I cannot stress to you how mouthwatering these wraps are – make them ASAP!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, chopped very small
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF, divided
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons mirin
- 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce, or more or less
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small zucchini, chopped
- 4 oz can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated, or bibb or iceberg lettuce
- 1/4 cup peanuts, minced
Directions
- Add chicken, 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari, and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch in a bowl then mix to combine.
- Add remaining 2 Tablespoons tamari, mirin, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a bowl then stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir water into remaining Tablespoon cornstarch then stir into soy sauce mixture. Set sauce aside.
- Preheat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add chicken and stir fry until cooked through. Remove to a plate then set aside.
- Heat remaining Tablespoon oil in wok then add zucchini, water chestnuts, and green onions. Stir fry until zucchini is crisp-tender, then add garlic and stir fry for 30 more seconds. Add chicken back into wok then pour in sauce. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced then let cool slightly before serving over lettuce and topping with minced peanuts.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This would be a great back to school lunch recipe. I am having a link party for back to school stuff if you would like to share this post. It look sooo good. Here is the link if you are interested. http://ceceliasgoodstuff.com/back-to-school-link-party
We love to make a PF Changes lettuce wrap knock-off and I bet this will be over-the-top awesome, too. Can I just say, would you use your connections in the industry to try to get chopped chestnuts in the stores? Or maybe I’m just missing them? = )
They should be right by the bamboo shoots in the Asian foods aisle!
IGE meals two nights in a row! Don’t usually comment, but I was looking up your recipe for Mediterranean Turkey Meatloaves for dinner last night (a fav of ours that I made a lot when I was pregnant and the smell brought some memories back since it’s been a while since I made them! I was pregnant a little ahead of you so enjoyed reading your blog along with what I was going through) When I was looking up that recipe I saw this one and HAD to make it tonight! Was a big hit and definitely a keeper :) Thanks Kristin!!
So glad to hear, Jackie! Hope you and baby are doing well. :)
I was recently diagnosed with celiac and am learning about eating gluten free. I’ve been reading your blog for a year or more now and have always enjoyed your recipes. Now I can also appreciate all your wonderful GF recipes! I find that eating gluten free at home is pretty easy but eating out is much more challenging. It would be wonderful to hear some of the tips and tricks you have learned that allow you to continue to enjoy dining out.
It is definitely a challenge eating out. I grill my servers about what’s in each dish and tell them over and over (I’m seriously obnoxious – but kind – about it) that I have Celiac Disease and cannot have any wheat. I also ask that they let the chef know. All that said, it is a risk every time you go out to eat and there’s absolutely no guarantee that no matter how careful the chefs are that there aren’t cross contamination issues. Unfortunately. :/
On one of our first dates my husband took me to a Thai fusion restaurant that had really great lettuce wraps. I don’t know why, but I haven’t thought about them since. This just made me remember them, and since we’re on a tight budget, I think I’ll be making these instead of ordering them out! YUM and Thank You!
My husband, who never particularly cares too much for food, declared this “one of the best things I’ve ever made him.” Thanks so much for sharing Kristin – these were delicious! I will definitely be making these again.
Wohoo – success! :)
Where in the Kung po chicken wraps is the amount of kikoi an AJ1 mirin to be added to the recipe?
Yesterday I had quite the craving for Asian food so I polled everyone in my office to find out how far I would need to walk to find good Asian food. The results were underwhelming so I headed towards a food cart I’d been wanting to try instead. As luck would have it, I bumped into an Asian food cart along the way and had a pineapple mango curried peanut dish. SO. GOOD. All this to say, it fed my Asian craving but now I want more! Can’t wait to give this a try tonight!
I made these last night to use up the dehydrated chicken I had left from a backpacking trip. Made a few switches to use veggies I had on hand. They were delicious! Who knew astronaut chicken could taste so good. ;)
OMG I did the exact same thing w/ the smoke/CO2 detectors! Except I couldn’t figure it out & couldn’t get the “smoke detector” to stop beeping so I ended up calling the fire dept to come out & fix it! They couldn’t figure it out right away either & ended up making 2 trips & replacing half our smoke detectors before finding the culprit!
these look ahhhhmazing!
Hint about smoke detectors and all things requiring batteries – we change ours out 2x per year – when we change our clocks back or forward. That way it’s a tradition & while they may not all need to be changed, it’s easier on our ears. :)
It looks awesome. You must be rich!. I love it.
these lettuce wraps definitely take me back to my childhood and asian heritage.. i am so craving one right now. they look divine and so beautifully captured!
This looks so good I can’t wait to make it!!!