Name: Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin Barbecue Sauce for One
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon oil; 1 scallion , white part minced, green part sliced thin; 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce; 1 tablespoon water; 2 (3- to 4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds; 4 Bibb, Boston, iceberg, or green leaf lettuce leaves; Lime wedge; Sriracha

Why This Recipe Works

Here, we make a dead-simple dish out of buttery, crunchy Bibb lettuce leaves encasing chicken thighs that we poached in sweet, tangy, umami-rich hoisin thinned with a little water. That's it! (Bonus: It's all cooked in a single skillet.) While keeping it simple, we elevated the dish with a few flavorful additions: Scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and lime wedges added depth, crunch, and tanginess. We also like to keep a bottle of sriracha well within reach for an extra hit of spice.

Before You Begin

You will need an 8-inch skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe—any larger and there will be too much evaporation. If you plan to store and reheat a portion of this recipe, store the lettuce, chicken, and garnishes separately; assemble lettuce cups after reheating filling.

Instructions

Heat oil in 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add scallion white and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in hoisin and water, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle chicken into sauce, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Flip chicken and continue to simmer, covered, until chicken registers 175 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer chicken to plate and let cool slightly; remove skillet with sauce from heat. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Return shredded chicken to skillet and stir to coat with sauce.

Cook chicken and sauce over medium heat until sauce is thickened slightly, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallion greens. Serve filling in lettuce leaves with lime wedges and sriracha. (Filling can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 days.)