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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This recipe is so delicious. There we no leftovers for another meal so I’m making it again tonight. My only change was cutting back on the brown sugar which took nothing away from the recipe. I also want to thank you for your tip on how to pull apart your lettuce so it stays a cup instead of looking like it’s been through a shredder. My cups were perfect for the first time in years!
These are the best! So delicious, and makes a quick, flavourful, and healthy dinner. One of my go-to’s for sure!
Tried this tonight and it was delicious! I added a tiny bit of tamarind concentrate and the only fresh herbs I had on hand was some parsley so I used that but next time I will make sure I have some basil on hand…I’m not a fan of cilantro/mint in things. My husband liked it but found it on the sweet side from the brown sugar so next time I will drop that down to a couple tbsp instead of 1/4 cup but that is just a personal preference. There is a LOT of flavor in this dish and it is super quick to pull together if you’ve chopped the veggies in advance.
The whole family loved it (and that NEVER happens in my family).
Loved the freshness and flavor of the chicken. I know use this recipe to create a healthier and more filling option to serve with Asian noodles, similar to the northern Chinese noodle dishes. I dice up lettuce or cucumber to serve alongside.
I’ve made this twice, once with ground chicken and once with ground turkey. Both were delicious. Thank you!
Great, easy summer meal that did double duty as a tasty lunch the next day
This has wonderful flavor and was really easy to put together though there was a bit of prep to get all the ingredients in proper form – I did start buying ginger in bulk, grating it and then freezing so I can pull out it without needing to prep it .
I had no problem with the fish sauce. I used one of the brands Jenn has recommended and it was fine.
I made some brown rice with it for my husband. Our lettuce cups kind of fell apart so we ended up eating it more like a salad, but this didn’t change the delicious taste!
Excellent recipe. It turned out exactly as I expected it to taste, flavourful, delicious, and healthy! Who needs tortillas, when lettuce does the trick?! Thanks for sharing it!
Proud that I tried this good flavored dish. Two obstacles for me to overcome was the fish sauce and the ground chicken. I almost always use chicken breasts but did not want the meal to be dry. Mentally just not used to seeing chicken ground up like beef or turkey. Fish sauce proved to be more of a challenge. I searched online for substitutes before just deciding to go purchase some from the grocery store. At $5 per bottle it was not super expensive. When it came time to add the fish sauce I happen to be visiting with family and I opened up the door hoping for some pre airing. No chance. Really really bad smell once it was simmering in the skillet. Overpowering to my guests and me. I tried to stay positive because I didn’t want them to be scared of my dish 🙂 They left the house LOL…. and went home. I turned on the attic fan, Had the doors open, sprayed lots of room sprays, even concentrated room sprays, and it was so hard to get out. The end flavor of the dish was good. The lingering smell of the fish sauce made some remaining family members not want to try the dish.
So sorry to hear of your experience with the fish sauce. After doing some research I purchase most of my my dried spices (smoked paprika, cumin, etc…), and fish sauce on Amazon. The brand options are numerous and I feel the quality is better than my local grocery stores. I use Red Boat fish sauce and for us the smell is not that strong and I feel it adds a lot of flavor to my Asian dishes as well as my homemade pasta sauce. Everyone is different on what they like I know, I just wanted to share what works for me.
God bless💐
This is the best, so delicious. Better than in restaurants and easy to make. Great authentic flavor.