Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I'm not sure what happened to the sun this summer. For some reason it just plum forgot to come around these parts. We literally got maybe one week of reasonable summer weather and that's being generous. Until today, it was a hot one, somewhere around 30 degrees and in this heat, I do not like to slave in a hot kitchen.

These lettuce wraps couldn't be more perfect for a day like today. They are so cool and fresh, I absolutely adore these wraps, anytime really. You can play around with the fillings for these by adding such things as water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms, bean sprouts or cabbage. Also, substituting shrimp, tofu or beef for the chicken would be equally fantastic.

RECIPE:
1/2lb ground chicken
3 TBS peanut butter
2 TBS honey
2 TBS tamari
2 TBS water
1/2 tsp sambal
vermicelli noodles
carrots, julienned
radishes, julienned
yellow pepper, julienned
green onion
cilantro
chopped peanuts
1 head iceberg or bibb lettuce

Cook the chicken in a pan over medium heat until cooked through. Drain chicken on paper towels and return to the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, honey, tamari, sambal and water. Add whisked mixture to the pan with chicken and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Cook the vermicelli noodles in boiling water for about 3 minutes or until tender. Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water and season the noodles with a little sesame oil. Allow noodles to cool completely.

Assemble the wraps by taking a lettuce leaf, add a small heaping of noodles, top with a spoonful of chicken and add green onions, cilantro, carrots, radishes, peppers and peanuts.