Thai Lettuce Cups

It may be cold out and lettuce cups seem like a summery thing, but boy are they good.  This is the perfect food for flavor and hardly any calories.

Make the meat mixture

8 oz. mushrooms- finely chopped in the Cuisineart

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs

5 cloves of garlic

1 inch of ginger root grated finely

2 T. fish sauce

2 T. Mirin

1 t. soy sauce

½ t. red pepper flakes

I small can of water chestnuts mined

In a fry pan sprayed with Pam cook the mushrooms on a medium heat for five mins.  Take out of the pan and set aside in bowl.  Put the garlic cloves in the cuisineart and chop finely, add the chicken thighs and pulse until minced.  Add the garlic and chicken to the fry pan and begin cooking on medium heat, add the ginger root.  After the chicken is almost cooked through, about five minutes add the fish sauce, mirin, soy and red pepper flakes.  Cook another two minutes add the water chestnuts to heat up.

Prep all the veggies:

Iceberg lettuce – cut head in half

Carrot Slivers

Marinated Cucumbers – English cucumbers thinly sliced with splenda, rice wine vinegar and fish sauce

Cilantro

Bean Sprouts

Cocktail peanuts

Optional Asian sweet and spicy sauce – I used a Shitake Soy ginger sauce

Carefully pull the lettuce leaves apart into cups.  Spoon two heaping spoonfuls of meat mixture into the cup; add some carrots, cucumbers, and bean sprouts.  Sprinkle a few peanuts and cilantro leaves on top and a spoonful of sauce.

It’s hard to eat neatly so have lots of napkins to clean the drippy parts off your chin.  You can thank me later.