Chicken and Rice Lettuce Wraps take summer eating to a whole new level. Tangy rice, crunchy nuts, currents and olives are wrapped in soft green leaves to make a fun-to-eat meal.
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Your tastebuds and muscles will thank you. So will your husband, kids, friends, aunts, uncles, cousin Jimmy, even your neighbors! This protein-style meal is no ordinary summer dinner. It’s healthy, light, satisfying and delicious. The best part, it’s very sharable.
I love the lettuce cups with tangy chicken at P.F. Chang’s. I do, I’m not ashamed. I also love bo ssam here in NY at Momofuku. It’s their roast pork dinner served family style with delicious fixings you stuff in a soft lettuce leaf. Taking those as my inspiration, I created this quick recipe with summer vibes, and much less prep.
These chicken and rice lettuce wraps only take a few minutes to prepare if you’re using rotisserie chicken!
One glorious aspect of this recipe is you can use rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken leftover from the weekend, or just poach chicken breasts as you prepare the other ingredients. Rice is a no-brainer, taking just minutes to cook. Chop the other ingredients and shred your chicken as it simmers.
I love all the layers of flavor that come from mixing crunchy walnuts, sweet currents, savory scallions and shallots with brined kalamata olives. A red wine and honey vinaigrette gets tossed on the salad while the rice is still warm. This allows the rice to absorb all the flavors, creating a dish that doesn’t need any extra sauce.
These lettuce wraps are delish served while the salad is warm, but room temp is also tasty – making this a genius picnic meal. Oh! I hear Central Park calling my name. I’m taking this on my summer outings! Truthfully it’s a secret way I trick myself into eating salad. Wrapping my salad in a lettuce leaf is way more fun than eating it with a fork!
Eat these chicken and rice lettuce wraps warm or at room temperature. They make a great picnic meal!
You can make this ahead, and refrigerate it, but be aware the rice gets that hard, cold thing going on once chilled, so give it a little spin in the microwave to soften the rice.
Get creative too. Swap the olives for red bell pepper or the currants for fresh grapes. Make this salad your own and enjoy.
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup dried currants
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 scallion white and green parts sliced
- 5 kalamata olives minced
- 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Butter lettuce leaves
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Mix together the warm rice, walnuts, currants, shallot, scallion, olives and shredded chicken.
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In another bowl whisk together the vinegar, salt, lemon zest, honey and olive oil. Toss vinaigrette with the rice mixture and stir in the parsley.
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Serve warm or room temperature. Spoon salad into lettuce leaves, wrap and eat!
Recipe and Photos Tara Teaspoon.
