Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups
These chicken lettuce wraps combine tender chopped chicken with water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, onion, ginger, garlic, and green onion in a sweet-tangy sauce accented with soy, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Fresh cilantro and basil add herbal brightness, while crisp iceberg lettuce provides the cool wrapper—an appealing appetizer or light meal inspired by restaurant-style lettuce wraps.
- Prep35 mins
- Cook15 mins
- Serves8
- DifficultyMedium
easyChef Pro health score
Calculated from USDA-referenced nutrient data for the ingredients in Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups, not estimated by an AI model. The same recipe returns the same score every time.
- Glycemic ImpactFair
- 51 / 100
- Carb quality, not quantity. Higher is better.
- Nutritional DensityPoor
- 8 / 100
- Nutrients per calorie. Higher is better.
- Energy DensityGood
- 91 / 100
- Calories by weight. Higher means more food for fewer calories.
- NOVA Processed Culinary Ingredients
- 2 / 4
- Processing level, 1 (whole) to 4 (ultra-processed). Lower is better.
How it scores for each health goal
The same recipe scores differently against different goals, because the goal changes the calculation rather than filtering a list. Set your goal in easyChef Pro and every recipe is scored against it.
- 28
- Heart Health
- 63
- Metabolic
- 20
- Digestive
- 20
- Inflammatory
- 54
- Performance
- 43
- General Wellness
- 1
Combine chicken, water chestnuts, mushrooms, yellow onion, green onion, soy sauce, ginger, and brown sugar in a bowl. Pat the mixture down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- 2
Whisk chicken stock, vinegar, garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, pepper flakes, and dry mustard together in a bowl until the glaze is well mixed.
- 3
Heat vegetable oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken mixture; cook and stir until the chicken no longer looks raw, about 2 minutes. Add glaze mixture; cook and stir until the chicken begins to caramelize and brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- 4
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pour the remaining glaze into the chicken mixture; cook until heated through and slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro, basil, and green onion. Transfer the chicken mixture to a bowl; serve with lettuce leaves as wrappers.
- Calories 230.28 kcal Moderate 12%
- Protein 17.75 g Good Source 36%
- Carbohydrate 15.28 g 6%
- Total Fat 11.79 g Moderate 15%
- Saturated Fat 3.02 g Moderate 15%
- Trans Fat 0.0 g Low Source 0%
- Cholesterol 75.86 mg High 25%
- Sodium 280.13 mg Moderate 12%
- Dietary Fiber 2.04 g Low Source 7%
- Total Sugars 3.06 g --
- Added Sugars 0.41 g Low Source 1%
- Calcium 16.3 mg Low Source 1%
- Iron 1.43 mg Low Source 8%
- Potassium 121.3 mg Low Source 3%
- Vitamin A 10.12 mcg Low Source 1%
- Vitamin C 0.88 mg Low Source 1%
- Vitamin D 0.0 mcg Low Source 0%
Values are per serving. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
- Soy 🌱
- Sesame
- Mustard
- Tomatoes 🍅
- Garlic 🧄
- Onions 🧅
About This Recipe
Chef John's Asian Style Chicken Lettuce Cups is made with 21 ingredients and serves 8. It takes about 50 mins and is rated medium. Key ingredients include Boneless Chicken Thigh, Brown Sugar, Chicken Stock, and Dry Mustard. Each serving provides about 230.28 kcal, and is a good source of protein.
Recipe Questions
- What is Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups made of?
- The main ingredients are Boneless Chicken Thigh, Brown Sugar, Chicken Stock, Dry Mustard, Fresh Basil. The full list of 21 is above.
- How long does it take to make Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups?
- About 50 mins in total: 35 mins to prepare and 15 mins to cook.
- How many calories are in one serving?
- One serving provides about 230.28 kcal. The full nutrition breakdown is above.
- Is Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups easy to make?
- This recipe is rated medium, with 21 ingredients and 4 steps.
- Is Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups healthy?
- Chef John’s Asian-Style Chicken Lettuce Cups has an easyChef Pro health score of 48/100. Per serving, it provides 230.28 calories and 17.75 g of protein, or 36% of the Daily Value. Worth noting per serving: sodium at 280.13 mg (12% of the Daily Value) and saturated fat at 3.02 g (15% of the Daily Value). It contains Soy, Sesame, Mustard, Tomatoes, Garlic and Onions, so it may not be suitable for people with those allergies or dietary restrictions. Whether it fits your goals depends on your complete meal plan and nutritional needs. Remix it in easyChef Pro to adjust the ingredients and generate fresh nutrition and scores.
How easyChef Pro scores recipes and products
easyChef Pro analyzes up to 41 nutrients using data sourced from USDA and other verified food databases. Its scoring method uses the nutrients relevant to nutrition quality, calorie density, processing level, and your selected health goal. Recipes and food products get a health score from 0 to 100, calculated using consistent rules instead of being estimated by AI. The same nutrition data, serving size and health goal will produce the same result.
The calculation evaluates nutrients, calorie density, processing level, and how well the food supports your selected health goal. Protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutrients can strengthen the score. High amounts of sodium, saturated fat, added sugar and other nutrients may lower it.
Your health goal also matters. easyChef Pro evaluates recipes and products across six health areas and adjusts their importance for your selected goal. This means the same food may be a better fit for one health goal than another.
For recipes, changing an ingredient, quantity or serving size changes the nutrition and may change the score. Remix the recipe in easyChef Pro to calculate fresh nutrition and scores for the version you actually make. Product scores are based on the nutrition and serving information associated with that specific product.
Score a recipe free, no app required