Thai-Style Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups
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Based on the popular Thai dish Larb Gai, this is a quick, easy, and flavorful weeknight dinner.
This recipe is based on Larb Gai, the popular Thai dish made from minced chicken, fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, and fresh herbs. You can have it on the table in 30 minutes, and it can be served in lettuce cups or over rice.
What you’ll need to make Thai Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups
As you can see from the photo, the recipe is inexpensive to make with ingredients found at your local supermarket. One of the key ingredients is fish sauce. Contrary to what you might expect, it doesn’t add a “fishy” taste, but rather a salty, savory, umami flavor. If you’ve never cooked with it, I’ll warn you that it smells pretty bad (my kids RUN out of the kitchen when I use it), but please don’t let that deter you — it absolutely makes the dish! If possible, buy a brand imported from Thailand or Vietnam, and don’t worry about buying a large bottle; it keeps forever.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the chicken, begin by cooking the onions and ginger in oil until soft.
Add the minced garlic and cook one minute more.
Add the ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart.
Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar and red pepper flakes, and cook until the chicken is done.
Off the heat, add the fresh cilantro, mint, scallions, and nuts.
Stir to combine.
Spoon into lettuce cups and serve with finely sliced carrots, herbs and Sriracha sauce.
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Thai-Style Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups
Based on the popular Thai dish Larb Gai, this is a quick, easy, and flavorful weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 large head iceberg or butter lettuce
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (you'll need a thick 2-inch piece) (see note)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds ground chicken (not all breast meat)
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce (use gluten-free if needed)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, from 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from 1½ limes
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 large scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
- ¼ cup chopped cashews or peanuts
Optional For Serving
- Sriracha
- Finely sliced carrots
- Lime wedges
- Cilantro and/or mint sprigs
Instructions
- If using iceberg lettuce: fill a large bowl with cold water. Place the head of lettuce on a cutting board; cut off the stem, then cut around the inner core of the lettuce and remove (do not cut all the way through the lettuce; just deep enough to remove the core). Discard the flimsy, ragged outer leaves and then place the head of lettuce in the bowl of water. Gently pull apart the leaves, then place them on a paper towel to dry. Cut any large leaves in half. Chill the lettuce cups in refrigerator until ready to serve. (If using butter lettuce, you won't have any issues pulling apart the leaves so this step is not necessary.)
- Heat the oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Add the ground chicken and turn the heat up to high. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until partially cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice and red pepper flakes and continue cooking, stirring frequently to break up the meat, until the chicken is cooked through, 5-6 minutes more. Off the heat, stir in the scallions, cilantro, mint and nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Spoon into lettuce cups and serve with optional garnishes.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meat mixture can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months and reheated in the microwave om on the stovetop until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 580
- Fat: 33g
- Saturated fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Sugar: 20g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 45g
- Sodium: 1565mg
- Cholesterol: 195g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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This dish was delicious and easy to make. I
had never tried ground chicken before, but I will be making these again. I love your step by step instructions.
I used diced chicken instead of minced chicken and it still turned out delicious! I shredded jicama & carrots & cut snap peas in half lengthwise for extra garnish. I would have never tried fish sauce since anchovies aren’t my favorite, but your site convinced me otherwise.
So glad you enjoyed , Deb! Now that you have the fish sauce, you might try my Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp or Thai Quinoa Salad.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/01/vietnamese-caramelize-shrimp.html
https://www.onceuponachef.com/2013/05/thai-quinoa-salad.html
What do you usually serve these with?
Hi Sam, They are delicious with jasmine rice.
Tried your Thai Minced Chicken Lettuce Cups last night for dinner and got rave reviews from the family. Really yummy! The only very small things I changed were to add more nuts because we like them and to use the lettuce more like wraps than cups. A definite keeper!
These were really great! I liked the easy directions (although fresh ginger can be a pain, it is worth it). Served it with green beans. Another wonderful recipe! Thank you.
These lettuce cups were BANGIN! I followed the recipe exactly and it was beyond delish. I gave my husband the option of using mini tortillas in case lettuce cups were too light for him. They were a hit all around.
The recipe is very similar to Larb Gai (Thai Chicken salad) but to make it truly Thai omit the nuts and the brown sugar. Add toasted/blended Jasmine rice during the cooking and instead of brown sugar use palm sugar (which can be found at most Asian Markets). Instead of using the lettuce, substitute with sliced Green Cabbage and cucumber. Not matter what, you still have a winner!!!
This recipe was dynamite! We loved it.
Excellent recipe! Made it with leftover roast chicken chopped fairly fine (approx 3-4 cups). Only thing I changed was using less red onion due to the amount of meat. Followed the recipe for the rest of the ingredients. I’m not a big cilantro fan but this was very good. Like it better than my PF Chang copy-cat…much easier.
This looks awesome. I’m going to try this as soon as possible thanks for posting.
Fun recipe and very tasty. I had 1 lb. of gr. chicken, and 1 lb. of gr. turkey. Turned out great. My fish sauce is not at all offensive when cooking. As with any recipe it is best to do the mise en place method. Meaning everything is measured and cut up ahead of time. Then, this recipe comes together in no time. I love using the butter lettuce leaves, and I serve the nuts on the side so each person can take what they want. That way, if there are leftovers, the nuts do not get soggy.