Wonton Soup and Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

 I've made lettuce wraps before but these turned out almost exactly like the ones I've had at PF Changs. However, in the vein of total honesty, I think I need to say that I believe that they were better! They didn't taste greasy at all, and sometimes the ones there are slightly greasy. They also were just a little bit sweet, and again, theirs are sometimes a  bit too sweet for me. These hit the PERFECT balance of sweet and spicy, a bit of crunch from the water chestnuts and green onions, and a melting softness from the butter lettuce. The added benefits of a lower fat, low carb meal are hardly worth mentioning, because this doesn't taste like a "healthy" meal -- but it is. How great is that? Guilt free indulgence!

One of the best parts of this 2 part meal is that since many of the same ingredients are used in both dishes, you don't have to feel guilty about purchasing something and just using it once!

Wonton Soup

 This soup, on the other hand, was inspired by one made by my sweet cousin when I visited her last year. She promised me it was easy, and it was! It was also just as delicious as I remembered. I watched her make it last fall and I followed her suggestions and cooking advice to recreate it. I added fresh shiitake mushrooms, mostly because they looked so fresh in the store when not much else did! I decided to add them to the Lettuce Wraps I'd planned as well. They were a bit on the pricey side, $3.99 for 8 oz. but I am glad I splurged. WOW, were they good in the soup and in the lettuce wraps, too! My cousin and I agree, this soup has got it all -- spicy, silky, fresh and flavorful -- UMAMI!

Read the recipes first and do all your chopping of similar ingredients at one time to save yourself time!

Since many of the ingredients in the recipes contain quite a bit of sodium, I did not add any additional salt to either recipe. We found these dishes to be well seasoned without doing so. You may want to taste them before you add any. 


First, the soup:

Wonton Soup
4 servings

32 oz. organic, low sodium chicken stock or broth or homemade
(I used "Imagine Natural Creations Chicken Stock")
1 pkg. Trader Joe's frozen mini Chicken Cilantro Wontons (or your favorite) 12 oz. size
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger 
1 T. Sriracha chili garlic sauce or to taste
2 T. hoisin sauce
2 T. dry white wine (optional)                                               

1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. "Nakano" brand seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. chopped Shiitake mushrooms (leave them out if you hate mushrooms)
To Serve:
2 thinly sliced green onions
2 - 3 T. rough chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
In a medium saucepan, combine the stock or broth, ginger, Sriracha, hoisin, wine, soy and rice wine vinegar. Bring this to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Cover and let cook about 5 minutes. Add the wontons and bring it back to a boil. Turn the soup down slightly so that it gently boils and cook 7 - 10 minutes until the wontons are cooked through. Add the mushrooms to the broth for the last 2 minutes,  if you are using them. You just want to heat them up a little. Don't cook them long. 
To serve the soup. ladle the broth and several wontons into a bowl, squeeze a lime wedge over it and sprinkle with cilantro and sliced green onions. Delicious! You can easily double this recipe for a bigger group or cut it in half for a quick lunch. 

NOW on to the Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
serves 4
1 lb. lean ground chicken, white meat only
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves minced garlic (about 1 T.) 
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. chopped Shiitake mushrooms
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. "Nakano" brand seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 T. grated fresh ginger
2 tsp. Sriracha or more to taste
To Serve:
Lime wedges
2 green onions, thinly sliced 
2 - 3 T. chopped and washed fresh cilantro
1 head butter lettuce, washed and leaves separated

In a large non-stick skillet, over medium/high heat, brown the chicken, breaking up the large chunks. About 3 minutes in, add the onion and the soy sauce. When the onion starts to soften, add the garlic and the ginger; continue cooking about 5 minutes, stirring to combine. Add the hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha. Cover and cook about 10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Add the water chestnuts and mushrooms and cook until heated through. At this point, you can hold it [ to 30 minutes, or refrigerate if you plan to serve it later.
To serve, place a few spoonfuls of the warm chicken mixture in the center of a piece of butter lettuce. Sprinkle with some green onions and a little cilantro, squeeze a lime wedge on it, wrap it up and enjoy! 

Thai Chicken Skewers With Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ok, here I am, a little out of my comfort zone -- Thai Chicken Skewers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, Potstickers and Snow Peas. I've gotta' confess -- I'd never cooked Snow Peas before and a I'd never even tasted a spicy peanut dipping sauce! That being said, it turned out well! After all, we KNOW that EVERYTHING Tastes Better when it's cooked on a stick, right? As we continue our quest to eat seriously healthy, we've got to mix it up, or we'll get bored, and that's never a good thing.

Thai Chicken Skewers with Potstickers and Snow Peas



First, I marinated the chicken breasts about 30 minutes before I skewered them. I mixed up the dipping sauce too, so the flavors would have a little time to meld. This is a lighter take on peanut sauce, cutting down on fat and calories by using some non-fat greek yogurt, instead of all peanut butter. While the chicken skewers were grilling, I cooked the Pot Stickers Straight from Trader Joe's! (Here's an earlier post about that store) and steamed the snow peas quickly when the chicken came off the grill. This meal took less than an hour, start to finish, including the time the chicken was marinating. It was easy, quick and tasted great AND it's healthy eating! Bring on the skewers and fire up the grill, it's a keeper! This would also be good served with some fresh veggie rolls that you can make or buy at the market. As an added bonus, if you should have any leftover chicken, you can create wonderful wraps for lunch with it. Try shredding up some cabbage, add a little hoisin sauce and wrap it up.

Thai Chicken Skewers
1 boneless chicken breast for every person, cut into large bite sized chunks
Marinade:
3 T. soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
1 T. fish sauce
1 heaping tsp. brown sugar
1 T. rice wine vinegar
This is enough marinade for 1 - 2 breasts. Whisk everything together and pour over your chicken. Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Preheat the grill and when it's hot, thread the chicken on to skewers. If using bamboo, be sure to soak them first.
While the chicken is marinating, make the Dipping Sauce.
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
3 T. plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1 rounded T. smooth peanut butter
juice of half a lime
2 - 3 T. rice wine vinegar
zest of 1/2 lime
a pinch of dried hot pepper flakes (big pinch if you like it spicy)
1 T. minced fresh cilantro (optional, but we like it)
1 scallion, white and green parts, thinly sliced
Whisk together the yogurt, peanut butter, lime juice, vingar and zest. Stir in the hot peppers, cilantro and scallion. Let this sit for awhile so that the flavors have a chance to meld.
Prepare your potstickers according to the package directions. Make them from scratch if you want, but I promise, the ones from Trader Joe's are pretty darn good! Steam your snow peas briefly while the chicken is resting. Drain them, add a pinch of butter or soy sauce and salt very lightly.
Grill your chicken skewers 6 minutes on each side. Let them rest and remove from the skewers.
Steam your snow peas briefly while the chicken is resting. Drain them, add a pinch of butter or sesame oil or soy sauce. If you don't use the soy, salt them very lightly.
Voila! Easy, huh? Good too!

Trader Joe's Night at Our House

General Tsao's Chicken Stir Fry with Chicken Shu Mai Dumplings

If you read my blog, even occasionally, or know me just a little bit, then you know that I love to cook. However, I must admit, some nights, I just don't feel like spending alot of time in the kitchen. We are spoiled enough around our house, though, that we won't compromise too much on taste and quality. Somtimes, that can present a bit of a dilemma. TAA DAA, Trader Joe's to the rescue. If you live in an area with a Trader Joe's, you are in luck. Their prepared foods are actually pretty good, and believe me, I am kinda' picky. If you've not made the trip to one, I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

My friend de cuisine told me about the General Tsao's Stir Fry Sauce:

TJ's General Tsao's Stir Fry Sauce

All you need to do to make some pretty good stir fry is to cut up some meat and/or veggies, stir fry them for a minute, and then add the sauce. I used 2 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, a bunch of green onion, 2 cloves of garlic, a small green pepper and a small red pepper. If you were really feeling lazy, you could buy a bag of frozen, pre-cut Chinese style veggies (I bet they sell them at TJ's!) and add some to the pan with the meat and pour the sauce over the whole thing. EASY and EASIER!!


I sprinkled on some dried hot pepper flakes, because we like things a little spicy. Lastly, pop on a lid and let it simmer a few minutes while your rice cooks. This is a good alternative to take out -- not only is it inexpensive, but you can control certain parts of the meal that are not always so good for you. For example, I only used a teaspoon of peanut oil to saute my chicken and vegetables.

Chicken and veggies, simmering away in the stir fry sauce

Another healthy addition that we like is to add some brown rice to the meal. I bring 2 1/4 cups of organic chicken stock to a boil and then add 1/2 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup white rice. Stir the rice into the liquid. Bring the pot back to a boil, cover it, turn it down and let it simmer for about 25 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed.

To round out the meal, but not put any further stress on myself, I also purchased a box of Chicken Shu Mai Dumplings at TJ's:

TJ's Chicken Shu Mai

They are super easy to prepare: Heat a skillet and add just a drop of peanut or vegetable oil. Sear the shu mai on high heat on both flat sides. Pour in a little bit of water, just enough to cover the bottom and cover the pan to let them steam for about 10 minutes.

Shu Mai seared, and ready to be steamed

Now, honestly, you've gotta' admit -- How hard is this? IT WAS EZ! I heated up a few cashews in the microwave and sprinkled them over the top of our General Tsao's Chicken, and VOILA it was almost like eating in a nice restaurant! Anyone can do this, and it really tasted good! Give it a try, and make some take out at home! Let me say, I know, I know, this is NOT really cooking and it's cheating and all that stuff.....but it was a busy day and I was over the kitchen and I managed to turn out a fairly healthy, good tasting meal in about 30 minutes without trashing up my kitchen or breaking the bank, so just go with it. Give yourself a break, it's OK, I promise. I give you my official permission to make this and call it dinner, call it cooking, whatever you want.