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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Do you have any Thai dessert recipes? Would you consider coming up with a Thai Coconut Ice Cream recipe?
As of now, I don’t — sorry! I’ll add your ice cream request to my list of recipes to potentially develop. Thanks for the suggestion as I’m always looking for new inspiration!
Thanks! ☺️
My 5 kids and husband all love this! I couldn’t get more on the wraps fast enough. I have tried other recipes and have failed. My son even asked me if it was a different recipe before he ate because the last ones were way too sweet (hoisin sauce) and another was way too salty. This one was juuuuust right 😉 we used cashews because that’s all I had and I think I will add water chestnuts next time But other than that I wouldn’t change a thing-except double the recipe!
I used your minced chicken instead of minced pork (as other recipes requested) and I got nice compliments!!
Made this tonight for my very picky husband and son. Served the wraps with Jasmine Rice and your Thai Cucumber Salad, a peanut sauce and shredded carrots. Squeeze of lime and some chopped peanuts. This was ANOTHER fantastic recipe I will refer to again and again. Thanks!
We loved these!! Huge hit with the whole family. The only thing I may change next time is I may add some water chestnuts for some crunch. So good!!
Thank you for this wonderful idea. I have a gathering this weekend and we are all supposed to take appetizers to share. I was struggling with what to make that is quick but good. This is perfect for a summer dinner especially with the heat wave we are having. I don’t have to heat up the house.
I have made these before with ground turkey and they are always a hit.
Thank you for the inspiration.
So good! My husband told me it was his favorite thing I’ve made in 4 years! I’ve since decided I will make all of Jenn’s recipes at least once! Thanks for this amazing resource!
I made this for dinner yesterday. I followed the recipe exactly as written. The ground turkey really absorbed all the flavors. I served it with butter lettuce, my husband ate his on corn tortillas. I try to eat low carb so this certainly fits the bill. Will be making this again.
This recipe is a family favorite and we’d have it every week if we didn’t have so many other favorites. It’s a wonderful recipe if you are following Weight Watchers. When I’m counting points, I reduce oil to 1T and cut the brown sugar in 1/2. I always save points to use for the peanuts. We love to use the Jicama Wraps from Trader Joe’s for these wraps and sometimes we nestle them in the lettuce leaves. When we are really hungry or the grandchildren are here, we also cook ramen noodles and toss with soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil to eat on the side or put inside the wraps. Leftovers, if you have any, are wonderful on top of a salad or in a wrap.
I made this for the first time today and WOW! Packed with flavor! I omitted the Cilantro and Mint (my people do not like). Added Siracha at the end and served with coconut rice. Delish – this was made for the teenagers after school snack and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing.