Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Cups 

A fun, healthy summer dinner. There’s a delicious balance of richly flavoured chicken thighs and fresh vegetables with a zingy dressing. You can use any fresh vegetables you have on hand to fill the lettuce cups.
Main Course
4
50 mins
30 mins
1 hr, 20 mins
Main Course
4
50 mins
30 mins
1 hr, 20 mins

Ingredients

Chicken

\3 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
\2 tablespoons of soy sauce
\1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
\1 tablespoon of sesame oil
\2 teaspoons of sugar
\2 cloves of garlic, crushed
\600-700 grams of chicken thighs

Dressing

\3 tablespoons of fish sauce
\2 tablespoons of water
\2 tablespoons of lime juice
\1½ tablespoons of sugar
\1-2 red chillies, depending on preference

To serve

\150 grams of vermicelli rice noodles
\iceberg lettuce, or cos lettuce leaves
\carrot, shredded
\cucumber, thinly sliced
\capsicum, thinly sliced
\roasted peanuts, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
  2. To marinate the chicken, mix together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and garlic.
  3. Pour this over the chicken and toss to evenly coat. Place chicken in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Place chicken on a large tray, ensuring the pieces are not overcrowded so that the chicken will brown and caramelise at the edges.
  5. Cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken thighs, until cooked through. Then slice.
  6. To make the dressing, mix together the fish sauce, water, lime juice and sugar. Remove the seeds from the chilli and dice it, before adding to the other ingredients. Whisk well and set aside until ready to use.
  7. Place the vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 2 minutes before draining and running under cold water.
  8. To serve: Fill a lettuce cup with some noodles. Add carrot, cucumber and capsicum. Top with slices of hoisin chicken and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts. Drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

Notes

Prep time includes marinating time. Contains gluten and nuts. Recipe credit: Kelly Gibney