Served over butter lettuce, these light and bright Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are loaded with tender chicken, cooked in a sweet and sour sauce along with fresh ginger, garlic, celery and carrots. A gluten free and dairy free meal starting from freezer to dinner table that is cooked in under 45 minutes using the Instant Pot Pressure cooker.
I am so excited to add these healthy Asian Chicken lettuce wraps along with chicken lettuce wraps with tandoori chicken and vegetarian lettuce wraps with spicy tofu in our weekly meal plans. They are perfect for family meals and can also be made ahead for easy entertaining. You can adjust the sweetness and make them Keto or low-carb friendly by omitting or reducing the honey.
This delicious Chicken Lettuce recipe is from the “No-Thaw Paleo Cooking in Your Instant Pot Cookbook” written by Dr. Karen S Lee who is also the author of two more successful cookbooks:
About the author:
When her two children were younger and she had a full-time chiropractic practice, Dr. Karen S. Lee, founder of wellness website drkarenslee.com, sometimes found it difficult to make time for healthy and well-rounded meals. Especially when she would realize that she had forgotten to take meat out of the freezer earlier in the day.
With the help of the Instant Pot, however, Karen learned that there is now no need to take the time to thaw ingredients. In her third cookbook, NO-THAW PALEO COOKING IN YOUR INSTANT POT®: Fast, Flavorful Meals Straight from the Freezer, Karen provides all the tools, including a No-Thaw Cooking Tips section, to help readers create 75 delicious, from-frozen, Paleo recipes quickly and with ease.
“This cookbook is all about using the Instant Pot to help you put healthy meals on the table despite your busy life,” writes Karen in her introduction.
How to make Sweet and Tangy Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
Step 1: Cook the frozen chicken in flavorful sauce
Turn on the Instant Pot by pressing the “Pressure Cook/Manual” button and set the timer for 6 minutes on HIGH pressure. Insert the inner pot and add the orange juice, tamari (or coconut aminos), raw honey and mirin. Stir. Add the frozen chicken thighs and spoon some of it on top of the chicken. Close the lid tightly and move the steam release handle to “Sealing.”
When the timer ends and the Instant Pot beeps, carefully turn the steam release handle to “Venting,” press “Cancel,” and allow the Instant Pot to depressurize quickly until the float valve drops down. Open the lid carefully. Using tongs, carefully take out the chicken, place them on a cutting board and dice the meat into small pieces. The chicken pieces might be stuck together, but you should be able to cut through them easily. Set the chicken aside. Reserve the cooked liquid in a small bowl.
Step 2: Sauté fresh veggies and cook with the chicken
Add the avocado oil in the inner pot and coat the bottom evenly. Press “Sauté” and when the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for 1 minute or until it is soft. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, ginger, sea salt, black pepper and orange zest. Stir well.
Add the diced chicken pieces and the reserved cooked liquid back into the inner pot and stir. Press the “Pressure Cook/Manual” button and set the timer for 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.
Step 3: Finish the filling
Meanwhile, mix the tapioca flour and water in a small bowl to make a slurry and set aside. When the timer ends and the Instant Pot beeps, press “Cancel” and allow the Instant Pot to cool down naturally for 10 minutes. Then, carefully turn the steam release handle to the “Venting” position for the steam to escape and the float valve to drop down. Press “Cancel,” and then “Sauté.”
Open the lid carefully and stir in the scallions (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish), toasted sesame oil and white pepper. Add the tapioca slurry into the inner pot while stirring for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens.
Press “Cancel,” ladle about 1 cup of sauce into a bowl and reserve for serving. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken into the lettuce wraps, add the garnishes and serve immediately. You can drizzle the reserved sauce, if needed.
How to serve Asian Chicken wraps:
Butter Lettuce also known as Boston or Bibb Lettuce as recommended by Karen, are best to serve these asian chicken wraps. They are soft, melt-in-your-mouth and pliable with a mild buttery taste. They are available in most grocery stores such as stop & shop, whole foods etc.
You can also use small romaine lettuce or the crunchy iceberg lettuce to serve the chicken. For a more filling meal, serve the sweet and tangy chicken over steamed rice.
Tips and substitutions on making Asian Chicken Wraps
- If using fresh chicken instead of frozen, cut the chicken into bite sizes pieces. Sauté fresh veggies and cook the chicken along with the orange juice, tamari (or coconut aminos), raw honey and mirin for 6 minutes followed by 10 minutes natural pressure release
- Tamari or coconut aminos can be substituted with Soy Sauce if you are ok with gluten
- You can adjust the sweetness and make them Keto or low-carb friendly by omitting or reducing the honey
- Corn starch can be used instead of tapioca flour if you are not on a paleo diet
No-Thaw Cooking Tips from Dr.Karen S. Lee
Here are a few of the important tips from the No-Thaw Paleo Cooking in your Instant Pot Cookbook:
- Meat Size – Cooking frozen meat that is 2 pounds or smaller results in more even cooking and more tender texture.
- Inner Pot Size – Before you freeze any meats, make sure the full width of all the pieces is less than 8 5/8th inches wide. This is the diameter of the inner pot of the Instant Pot. You also want to pay attention to the height of the pot (6 1/3 inches) and be sure not to fill the pot more than 2/3 full. Take the meat out of the original package and freeze it in the shape and size of the inner pot, so its easy to cook it without defrosting.
- Before Freezing – Take the chicken out of the original packaging and wrap it well with freezer paper or place it in a container or ziplock freezer bag. Don’t forget to remove the paper that lines the tray that the meat was packaged in. Be sure to label the container or the bag clearly. Frozen meats are harder to recognize, so clearly label the type of meat, weight and the date.
For more awesome tips on how to cook delicious meals using frozen meats, seafood and veggies order a copy of The No-Thaw Paleo Cooking with your Instant Pot Cookbook today!
Recipe reprinted with permission from No Thaw PaleoCooking in your Instant Pot by Dr. Karen S. Lee, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo Credit: Donna Crous.
More family favorite meals that are easy and delicious:
- Easy Vegan Tacos – loaded with turmeric roasted tacos and tangy slaw
- Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – with tender cooked butter chicken in a warm sauce
- Simple Chicken Burgers – Spicy Masala Burgers with the juiciest patties
- Chicken Tinga Tacos – Smokey flavorful chicken cooked in chipotle chicken in adobo sauce
- Spinach Quesadillas – Crispy quesadillas with sweet caramelized onions, mushrooms, spinach
- Black Bean Quesadillas – Kid-friendly recipe with sweet corn and pepper jack cheese
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Sweet and Tangy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp mirin or rice vinegar
- 1 lb frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tbsp finely minced or pressed garlic
- 2 celery diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp grated orange zest
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 scallions chopped ½ cup, divided
- ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 or 2 small heads of bib butter or baby romaine lettuce leaves
- 1 cucumber julienned
- ½ cup sliced radishes
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot by pressing the “Pressure Cooker/Manual” button and set the timer for 6 minutes on HIGH pressure. Insert the inner pot and add the orange juice, tamari (or coconut aminos), raw honey and mirin. Stir. Add the frozen chicken thighs and spoon some of it on top of the chicken.
- Close the lid tightly and move the steam release handle to “Sealing.”
- When the timer ends and the Instant Pot beeps, carefully turn the steam release handle to “Venting,” press “Cancel,” and allow the Instant Pot to depressurize quickly until the float valve drops down. Open the lid carefully.
- Using tongs, carefully take out the chicken, place them on a cutting board and dice the meat into small pieces. The chicken pieces might be stuck together, but you should be able to cut through them easily. Set the chicken aside. Reserve the cooked liquid in a small bowl.
- Add the avocado oil in the inner pot and coat the bottom evenly. Press “Sauté” and when the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté for 1 minute or until it is soft. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, ginger, sea salt, black pepper and orange zest. Stir well.
- Add the diced chicken pieces and the reserved cooked liquid back into the inner pot and stir. Press the “Pressure Cooker/Manual” button and set the timer for 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.
- Meanwhile, mix the tapioca flour and water in a small bowl to make a slurry and set aside.
- When the timer ends and the Instant Pot beeps, press “Cancel” and allow the Instant Pot to cool down naturally for 10 minutes. Then, carefully turn the steam release handle to the “Venting” position for the steam to escape and the float valve to drop down. Press “Cancel,” and then “Sauté.”
- Open the lid carefully and stir in the scallions (reserve 1 tablespoon [3 g] for garnish), toasted sesame oil and white pepper. Add the tapioca slurry into the inner pot while stirring for 1 minute or until the sauce thickens. Press “Cancel,” ladle about 1 cup (240 ml) of sauce into a bowl and reserve for serving.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken into the lettuce wraps, add the garnishes and serve immediately. You can drizzle the reserved sauce, if needed.
Video
Nutrition
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Karen Lee says
Thank you so much for sharing one of my favorite recipes from the book! Your photos look gorgeous! Glad your family enjoys it!