Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

One of our favorite dishes at PF Chang's is the lettuce wraps.  They are so flavorful and refreshing, we can never get enough of them.  This homemade and entirely different recipe is just as flavorful and refreshing.  We all (kids most definitely included) scarfed them down and then wished there were more.  What I loved most about these was how simple they were to prepare, there's really only about 4 main ingredients and chances are you probably have most of them on hand.  I'm sure there far more than that in a PF Chang's knock-off.  Which means this version is a totally doable last minute week-night meal.  Perfect, fast, and healthy for busy summer nights.  Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
{Adapted Recipe from She Wears Many Hats. com}


For stir fry sauce:  (which I doubled and didn't regret one bit)
2 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground ginger (fresh would work well also-maybe 2 teaspoons worth?)
1 t sesame oil (I'm not a huge fan of sesame oil, so I only do a couple drops)

For Cashew Chicken:
2 chicken breasts, diced
3 T veggie oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t soy sauce
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water chestnuts, diced
optional: shredded cabbage
Several leaves of greenleaf (our pick) or iceburg lettuce

For sauce:  Mix all ingredients making sure to dissolve brown sugar.  Set aside.

For cashew chicken:
Heat oil in pan over med-high heat.  Add diced chicken and brown (4-5 minutes).  Remove chicken from oil.  Add onions, garlic, 1 t soy sauce to pan (and shredded cabbage if using); brown.  When mixture is brown and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken, cashews, and water chestnuts.  Saute a few minutes.  To serve:  Spoon chicken mixture onto individual lettuce leaves, may add some hot sauce (sririachi), more cashews, and maybe even some cilantro is desired.  Roll up and eat--kind of messy, definitely awkward, but oh so worth it!