Chicken lettuce wraps

• 1.25 lbground chicken · or finely chopped chicken thigh
• 1 tbspavocado oil
• 1 canwater chestnuts · drained and diced, 8 oz
• 3 clovesgarlic · minced
• 1 tbspfresh ginger · grated
• 3 tbsplow-sodium soy sauce · or tamari
• 1 tbsprice vinegar
• 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
• 1 tsphoney
• 3spring onions · sliced
• 2 headsbutter or baby gem lettuce · leaves separated

Methode

1. 1

   Brown the chicken hard, do not just cook it

   Press the ground chicken into the hot pan and leave it to develop a brown crust before breaking it up. Those browned bits are most of the flavour. If you stir it constantly it poaches in its own liquid and tastes bland, no sauce can fix that later.

2. 2

   Water chestnuts are the whole point of the texture

   The signature crunch in a lettuce wrap comes from diced water chestnuts, not the lettuce. Dice them small so they distribute through every spoonful. Tinned is fine, drain and pat them dry so they can catch a little colour in the pan.

3. 3

   Build the sauce in the pan, not in a bowl

   Once the chicken is browned and the aromatics are fragrant, add the soy, vinegar, sesame oil and honey straight into the hot pan. It reduces and glazes the meat in a minute. A pre-mixed sauce poured on cold just makes the pan watery.

4. 4

   Add the aromatics late so they do not burn

   Garlic and ginger go in for the last thirty seconds before the sauce, not at the start. High heat plus a long cook turns them bitter. You want them fragrant, not scorched.

5. 5

   Keep the lettuce cold and dry

   Butter lettuce or baby gem gives you a cup that holds without cracking. Wash and dry the leaves well and keep them in the fridge until the moment you serve. A cold, crisp cup against the hot savoury filling is the contrast that makes the dish.

6. 6

   Finish with spring onion and a squeeze of lime

   Sliced spring onion greens and a squeeze of lime over the finished filling lift it. Serve the filling and the cups separately and let people build their own, warm filling into a cold leaf, so nothing wilts.