Make this impressive yet spicy chicken lettuce wraps in less than 40 minutes. Also, get make-ahead tips to make it the perfect party snack. This is so satisfying!
Lettuce wraps! Everything about it is so refreshing I can’t believe I took so long to post a spicy and crispy fried appetizer.
Ok! these are fried chicken lettuce wraps which mean we are not talking very healthy at the moment. But you can bake or even stir fry the chicken and try the healthy style meal.
Why make this recipe?
- It is super crispy. You can make the sauce a few days in advance and marinate the chicken a day ahead. Then fry chicken at the last moment and toss in sauce and serve. Wow.
- The fried noodles/ramen taste so yummy in the wrap.
- The veggies also add crunch to the wrap.
- Lastly, the crispy chicken is not very floury and so it doesn’t get chewy upon cooling. Even the cold chicken taste soft and juicy to bite.
Other similar recipes you must try are Manchurian chicken, Dynamite chicken, Chicken 65 and, Cornflakes chicken.
Ingredients
So I've divided the ingredient into two lists. The ingredients for chicken and ingredient for sauce. Ok! I forgot to add the ramen noodle in the photo. But the good news is that you can add anything crispy.
The ingredients are all common pantry that are boneless chicken, egg, soy sauce, cornflour, salt, and pepper.
So above you can see the ingredients of sauce and lettuce.
Lettuce: I used iceberg lettuce. Butter lettuce and romaine lettuce are good options. Basically, you need firm lettuce with thick ribs.
Vegetables: I used onions and green bell peppers. But, you can actually add anything from corn, baby corn and so much more.
Seasoning: I used red chili flakes, garlic, and soy sauce to season. You can add any other chilies like cayenne or any hot sauce.
Chicken stock: This adds considerable flavor, you can add just water; or water and ¼ chicken bullion (chicken stock cube).
Honey and Ketchup: You may replace honey with sugar or another sweetener.
Tomato paste: Just tomato paste seems slightly less pantry friendly. So you can use tomato-based sauce like pasta sauce or just extra ketchup can do as well.
If using tomato purée, use about ½ cup (about 2 medium tomatoes). In the pan begin by simmering tomato purée first. When it thickens enough, remove it from the pan and follow the steps of sauce in the same pan. Easy peasy!
How to make it?
Let's have look at the steps, I'm so excited.
- In a bowl, add chicken, corn flour, egg, soy sauce, pepper, and salt, mix well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken marinates let's prepare the sauce. Heat oil in a pan, and add red chili flakes and garlic. Let it sizzle for a few seconds.
- Then stir in the sliced onions and bell peppers. Fry for 1-2 minutes. (Tip: Add any other veggies you like.)
- Now, add tomato ketchup, chicken stock, tomato paste, and soy sauce, and cook until the sauce is thoroughly heated.
- The sauce is thickened and bubbling hot. Also, separate the lettuce leave and form the cups. (Tip: Add a double layer if the leaves are thin.)
- In a wok heat oil and fry ramen noodles until golden. (Tip: You can skip this step and sub ramen with anything crispy like slim chips, crackers, etc.)
- In the same pan fry chicken in 2-3 batches until crispy and golden, and set aside. (Tip: You may shallow fry the chicken to save oil like just ½ cm oil in the pan. But spread pieces apart to avoid clumping.)
- Reheat the sauce thoroughly and mix the fried chicken. Then spoon the crispy chicken into the lettuce leaf. Garnish it with crushed fried ramen and green onions.
Variations
I’ve used sweet and spicy and crispy chicken filling for these wraps. You can serve this sauce over rice too. Also, serve a bed of sliced icebergs on the side of rice to make a tempting platter.
You can also switch my dynamite chicken in this wrap recipe. It tastes absolutely juicy with lip-smacking flavors. You can use this filling in my chicken bread recipe as well.
FAQ
Use extra ketchup or ½ cup thickened tomato purée instead. Check the ingredients section to see detail on how to use tomato purée.
Prepare the sauce 2-3 days in advance and refrigerate or freeze. Marinate chicken up to 24 hours in advance. Follow the frying steps before serving. Reheat the sauce and add the fried chicken to serve.
Yeah… they add the crunch. You can add fried peanuts, slim chips, nachos, or other crackers as well.
If you try this spicy Chicken Lettuce Wrap recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 450 gm boneless chicken, cut in cubes
- ¼ cup corn flour
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ -1 tablespoons red chili crushed, or to taste
- ½ tablespoons garlic, chopped
- ½ cup capsicum
- ½ cup onion
- ½ cup tomato ketchup
- ¼ cup chicken stock, or ¼ chicken bullion mixed in water or just water.
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste, see notes
- 2 tablespoons honey, or 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- Salt , to taste
- Oil, for frying
- 2 cakes of ramen (instant noodle), , do not use the tastemaker
- Green onions, green parts only for garnish
Instructions
Marinate
- In a bowl, add chicken, corn flour, egg, soy sauce, pepper, and salt, mix well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
Make Sauce
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, add red chili flakes and garlic. Let it sizzle for a few seconds.
- Then stir in the sliced onions and bell peppers. Fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Now, add tomato ketchup, chicken stock, tomato paste, and soy sauce, and cook until the sauce is thoroughly heated.
- Sauce is thickened and bubbling hot.
Assemble
- Separate the lettuce leave and form the cups.
- In a wok, heat oil and fry ramen noodles until golden.
- In a same wok fry chicken in 2-3 batches until crispy and golden, and set aside.
- Reaheat the sauce thoroughly and mix the fried chicken. Then spoon the Dragon chicken into the lettuce cups. Garnish it with crushed fried ramen and green onions.
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