CRUISE RECIPE:  Viking Cruises’ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hungry to Sail Again

Before today’s lockdown, I’d open my fridge and find a bottle or two of wine, condiments representing every corner of the globe and maybe some sliced turkey or ham that I’d slap on a wrap when the dinner hour approached.  Now, the shelves are groaning under the weight of my culinary experiments…and the bathroom scale is groaning under the weight of, well, me!

It’s time to lighten up…at least until the gyms re-open.

Viking Cruises’ chicken lettuce wraps are a light, healthy and delicious low-carb alternative to the rich dishes so many of us are whipping up during our time at home.  Serve as an appetizer or main course and you won’t feel quite as guilty spending day after day napping on the couch or sitting on your butt in front of the television.   

VIKING CRUISES:   Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Appetizer—double the recipe for a main course.

Wrap:

8 med iceberg or butter lettuce leaves

Filling:

2 dried black mushrooms

1 1⁄2 tsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1⁄2 lb. ground chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tsp minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1⁄2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1⁄2 cup water chestnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Sauce:

1⁄4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 1⁄2 tsp. chili garlic sauce

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Directions

Soak mushrooms in warm water 15 minutes until softened; drain, discard stems; chop caps. Whisk together cornstarch and wine in a small bowl; add chicken; let stand 10 minutes. Heat a wok or skillet over high heat until hot. Add oil; swirl to coat all sides. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add chicken mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, or until crumbly and no longer pink. Add bell pepper, water chestnuts and mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until bell pepper is soft. Stir in cilantro if using; remove from heat. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. To serve, arrange lettuce on a plate. Place chicken mixture and sauce in separate serving bowls. Each person can make their own wrap by spooning chicken mixture into lettuce leaves and drizzling sauce on top. Fold the lettuce around the filling and enjoy.

To serve, arrange lettuce cups on a plate. Place chicken mixture and sauce in separate serving bowls. Each person can make their own wrap by spooning the chicken mixture into the lettuce leaves and drizzling sauce on top. Fold the lettuce around the filling and enjoy!

-Judi Cuervo

Judi Cuervo is a New York City native who fell in love with cruising in 1976 during her first sailing aboard Carnival Cruises’ Mardi Gras. Twenty years later, she began her freelance cruise writing gig and, since that time, has covered mass market, ultra-premium, riverboat and expedition ships for regional, national and international publications as well as cruise websites.