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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Loved the taste, however there was so much liquid once the chicken was cooked that it was almost like a soupy mixture. Your finished product doesn’t look soupy at all, did you drain it or cook it until most of the liquid evaporated? Draining it loses all the wonderful flavor and I thought cooking it until it evaporated would make the chicken too dry
Hi Maryke, Sorry you had too much liquid in the chicken — was the meat by chance frozen?
Probably soupy if you use white meat chicken-use dark-much better
I have never posted a review after testing out a new recipe, but this one has inspired me to post one!
Absolutely delicious recipe, simple and easy to make and full of flavour!
We substituted the chicken for ground beef and added some crunchy chopped bell peppers and it was still very delicious!!! My kids devoured it. I have tried many of your recipes and it has never disappointed me. Thank you.
This is next level delicious! We did it with half the chicken mince, and it worked out perfectly. Easy, quick, so flavoursome and tasty! Thank you for our new favourite recipe – from New Zealand.
I used to have a favorite Thai restaurant called Sawaddi. Well, Sawaddi closed and reopened under new management with a new name and new recipes. My favorite dish there was you guessed it Thai chicken lettuce wraps! I have searched high and low to find a recipe that came even close to theirs and I have found it finally! Bless you you amazing woman! You complete me! lol Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for sharing your recipes. Does this recipe have a vegetarian version?
Best,
Mariana
Mariana, although I’ve not tried it this way, perhaps you could substitute the chicken with tofu, or vegetarian ground “meat.”
The Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups were absolutely outstanding. I followed the recipe exactly, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The blend of flavors in the chicken kind of made my mouth dance every time I took a bite. : ) YUM!! My whole family — even my 8-year-old — loved this meal. Next time, I’m going to triple the recipe and freeze in batches for future meals. Thanks for another awesome recipe, Jenn!
Wow these little cups are so delicious. A real hit with kids and the adults. I live in Dublin, Ireland so no problem buying the fish sauce in the supermarket (Irish people love Thai and also Chinese food). I also add some bean sprouts to this dish to bulk it out slightly. Delicious recipe thank you
Would this recipe be a good wedding appetizer? I am in charge of appetizers at my sons wedding and he loves lettuce cups. Thanks, lynn.
Yes, I think these would make a nice appetizer but they may be a little bit messy to eat, so just take that into consideration in your planning.
This recipe is delicious! It also tastes great left over.
This was amazing, so good and easy to prepare. Sure going to make it many times over. Thank you
Iberia