Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Asian food is my favorite. I love it for the taste, but I also feel the best after eating it over any other food. In fact, I could probably eat a version of Vietnamese, Chinese, or Thai everyday. Since Asian foods are usually made with rice, that also favors my gluten-free diet. I haven’t made many Asian recipes, but one I have been making for years is Asian chicken lettuce wraps.

It was inspired by a similar recipe I found in the book Paleo Slow Cooking: Gluten Free Recipes Made Simple, but I altered the recipe a little to fit our taste (I removed the garlic and onion for me and mushrooms for my husband). I also served it on cabbage leaves instead of iceberg lettuce, but any leafy green will do. The light asian sauce topping the chicken is what makes this recipe delicious.

To make this meal more filling, swap out the lettuce wrap and serve the Asian chicken with vermicelli rice noodles or rice.

This is a great recipe to make during the week because it cooks itself while I’m working during the day. I put the slow cooker on during my lunch break and dinner is ready when I get home from the YMCA. I have two slow cookers I highly recommend depending on the size of dish you are cooking. The KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker is great for making larger meals or soups and the Crock-Pot Programmable 4-Quart Slow Cooker is great for everyday use if you are cooking for 2-4 people. Both have removable ceramic bowls that are dishwasher safe to make clean-up easy.

Shopping List

• 1-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 head of cabbage (you could also use iceberg lettuce)
• 1 can water chestnuts, sliced
• 1 can bamboo shoots
• 2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari (same as gluten-free soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
• Asian chili pepper oil (optional to add spice)

Instructions

• Combine the tamari, honey, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, and asian chili pepper oil in a small dish. Stir until sauce is mixed completely.
• Place the chicken breasts in a slower cooker and pour the sauce over it, covering completely.
• Drain the cans of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. You can put them in the slow cooker at anytime (on top of the chicken), but I prefer to put them in only for the last hour of cooking.  This helps them keep their crunch.
• Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
• Remove only the chicken from the slower cooker and shred into small pieces using a fork. The chicken will be very tender and should peel into shreds very easily.
• Once shredded, put the chicken back in the slow cooker and mix together with everything else.
• Serve on your favorite leafy green or a rice dish of your choice.