Light Bites Recipes - Lettuce Parcels Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast fillets

• 4 Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in warm water to cover

• 30ml/2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 6 drained canned water chestnuts, thinly sliced

• 30ml/2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 5ml/1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, dry fried and crushed

• 4 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

• 5ml/1 tsp sesame oil vegetable oil, for deep-frying

• 50g/2oz cellophane noodles

• salt and ground black pepper

• 1 crisp lettuce and 60ml/4 tbsp hoisin sauce, to serve

Serves 6

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Method:

1. Remove the skin from the chicken fillets, pat dry and set aside. Chop the chicken into thin strips. Drain the soaked mushrooms. Cut off and discard the mushroom stems; slice the caps finely and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the garlic, then add the chicken. Stir-fry until the pieces are cooked through.

3. Add the sliced mushrooms, water chestnuts, soy sauce and peppercorns. Toss for 2-3 minutes. then season, if needed. Stir in half of the spring onions, then the sesame oil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. Cut the chicken skin into strips, deep fry in hot oil until very crisp and drain on kitchen paper. Deep fry the noodles until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

5. Crush the noodles and put in a serving dish. Top with the chicken skin, chicken mixture and the remaining spring onions.

6. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter. Toss the chicken and noodles to mix.

7. Invite guests to take a lettuce leaf, spread the inside with hoisin sauce and add a spoonful of filling, turning in the sides of the leaf and rolling it into a parcel before eating it.

Note: Known as Sang Choy in Hong Kong. this is a popular "assemble-it-yourself" treat.