5 Spice Chicken Lettuce Cups and a Cookbook Sale

 This is another of those recipes with sneaky ingredients.  Who woulda thought to put jicama in Asian lettuce wraps--well besides me that is. My son snuck up behind me in the kitchen to see what I was doing. I was peeling a jicama, and definitely trying to hide that fact by turning my back to him. Jicama is one of those things that is seldom greeted with enthusiasm around here. My men are not huge raw veggie eaters and jicama is tricky to cook to softness. I just answered truthfully and offered no more information. That being said, I doubt Pearson will find the jicama in this delicious chicken recipe. I used my Ninja to finely chop this watery root, and it is barely discernible in the finished product. It just absorbed all those wonderful Asian flavors and made for an excellent meal. If you want to say, "Hey, there is jicama in these wraps!" then by all means cut matchsticks by hand. I will continue my clandestine activities. That secret ingredient paired with the crunch of the celery makes a very nice texture. You might even like a sprinkle of sliced almonds on top of the cups-- just add them right before serving.

 5 Spice Chicken in Lettuce Cups or Wraps

2 large chicken breasts
4 ribs celery (with leafy tops)
1/2 large onion
1/2 large jicama
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp coconut aminos or tamari
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using tamari rather than coconut aminos)
stevia equivalent to 2 tsp
hot sauce or red pepper flakes optional
1/2 head lettuce

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Chop celery and onion. Peel jicama and cut it into large slices. Place these in a food processor and chop finely. Remove the jicama to a small bowl. Press out excess moisture with a soft spatula. Absorb the remaining moisture with some paper towels. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet. Add chicken, celery and onion and jicama. Cook until chicken is cooked through. In a small bowl, combine coconut aminos or tamari, sesame oil, minced garlic, fish sauce, salt if using, stevia and hot sauce if using. Pour this over the chicken and vegetables and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves or placed inside open lettuce cups. Serves 3-4.

4 servings:   230 calories      15 g protein   11 g fat    8 g net carbs

You can go the easy route and just put the chicken mixture over chopped lettuce if you have a hard time rolling like I did. It all tastes the same! Remember to taste for saltiness you prefer. I find that my coconut aminos are not nearly as salty as the tamari sauce I use. While I needed to add some salt to this dish, you may not. You might also enjoy this dish with the addition of bell peppers, water chestnuts or shredded carrots. Some recipes call for mushrooms, but I love the crispier texture this recipe offers. The husband loved it today. The boy liked these too.

This recipe is good enough to make the cut and go into the upcoming Low Carbing Among Friends Volume IV. Try this recipe now and remember to grab the already released volumes now during this great sale. Check out the sale, and click on the dancing leprechaun to order. I should head back into the kitchen now and plan for some good Irish food this week.

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