Lettuce wraps

Iceberg lettuce doesn't have much of a use in my world, but it was available at such a ridiculously low price in my supermarket that I had to try to do something with one. It turns out, I would have done better with a Boston lettuce for this use as well. The outcome was nevertheless tasty.

Ingredients

8 leaves of Boston lettuce

1 large chicken breast

1 tbsp starch

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

0.25 tsp baking powder

8 oz can of water chestnuts

1 small yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp Sambal chili sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

4 oz dehydrated shiitake mushrooms

0.5 cup chow main noodles

Preparation

Soak the dehydrated mushrooms in warm water for 2 hours, ensuring that the mushrooms are under water (cover full bowl with a plate). Dice the water chestnuts and the onion.

Grind the chicken breast. Best done with a mostly frozen breast cut into 1-inch cubes and pulsed about 10-12 times in a food processor.

Mix the ground meat with the starch, baking powder, cooking wine and one tbsp soy sauce. Set aside.

Mix the remaining soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, chili sauce, and hoisin sauce. Set aside.

To a large skillet add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat until near its smoke point. Add the chicken and brown it, breaking it up with the spoon. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes. Press in the garlic and add the ginger. Stir for 30 seconds. Add the re-hydrated mushroom caps sliced and the water chestnuts. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add the sauce mix and the chicken. Cook until sauce thickens. Serve with lettuce leaves and chow mein noodles.