Korean BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These colorful and delicious Korean BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps will take you by surprise when you discover how easy they are to make! You'll find that the most challenging part of the recipe is finding the gochujang in your grocery store (either in the aisle with other ethnic ingredients like curry paste or in the spice aisle).

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Gochujang is all the rage lately in the world of hot sauces and chili pastes. It’s a staple of Korean cuisine and it’s spicy, sweet and savory all at the same time. Made from chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and barley malt, you probably won’t find many other condiments like it in most of our homes, but it more than deserves a spot in your refrigerator. It adds such a lovely flavor and depth to marinades, stews, soups and even dips. The spiciness of this Korean chili paste can vary by brand, so look for some indication of how hot the mixture is on the packaging.

Jar of Mother-in-law's Gochujang with a spoon in front - an ingredient in Korean BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

The gochujang mixture in this recipe could be used in many different ways (as a marinade for example), but here it gets stirred into cooked ground chicken and simmered until the chicken almost absorbs all of the liquid. And that’s it! That’s all there is to this dinner, but it’s so refreshing and delicious. 

Hand holding Korean BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wrap.

Korean BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

  • Prep Time: 15 m
  • Cook Time: 10 m
  • Total Time: 25 m
  • Servings:
    4

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons gochujang Korean chili paste
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1- inch piece of ginger peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 12 large Bibb lettuce leaves
  • 1 large carrot julienned
  • salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sliced English cucumber sliced into quarter moons
  • 2 scallions sliced on the bias
  • 1 hot red chili pepper thinly sliced
  • fresh mint and/or cilantro leaves
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken

Instructions

  1. Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl, mix well and set aside.
  2. Prepare all the wrap ingredients, putting them in serving dishes. Break off the largest Bibb lettuce leaves you can. Toss the julienned carrot in a bowl and dress with salt, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil and vegetable oil. Set aside. Slice the cucumber, scallions and red chili pepper, and pick the leaves of mint and/or cilantro.
  3. Heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and cook the chicken, breaking it up regularly with a spatula. When you can no longer see any traces of pink in the chicken, pour in the gochujang mixture and simmer the chicken, tossing it with the sauce, until most of the sauce has been absorbed. Transfer the chicken to a bowl with the other wrap ingredients.
  4. Let everyone build their own lettuce wrap by spooning some chicken into a leaf of lettuce and adding the toppings that they like.
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Comments (11)Post a Reply

  1. 5 stars
    Made these wraps tonight for dinner. Only sub was ground turkey for the ground chicken. They were delicious! Will be putting this recipe into the rotation.

  2. 5 stars
    My family enjoyed this dish. I used thin sliced chicken breast instead of ground chicken and different peppers due to availability and we were all pleased. The flavors were complex, spicy and delicious.

  3. 5 stars
    My sister and I loved it! It has so much flavor and different textures. It was very satisfying and you don’t feel stuffed afterward.

  4. 5 stars
    These Lettuce Wraps were a huge Hit! I made them as an appetizer and next time it will be as the meal. Very easy to prepare and full of great flavor.

    1. In a pinch, yes. It will change the flavor, since sriracha has more garlic, but if you like sriracha, you’ll like it.

  5. 5 stars
    Loved these and loved the leftovers for an amazing salad. Bed of lettuce, seasoned chicken, water chestnuts, toasted almonds, and mandarin oranges. Yum!

  6. 5 stars
    I made the wraps with shrimp tonight. The family loved them. I also set aside some of the sauce and added sour cream to make a cream to drizzle on top. Will definitely make again.

    1. You can usually find chili paste in the Asian isle of your supermarket. If they don’t have it, try a store like Wegmans or Whole Foods. Or if you have an Asian Market in your area they would have it as well. You can always order it on Amazon if you don’t have any of those stores in your area.

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