Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Cups

Ingredients

• 700 g chicken breast, cut into small cubes
• 4 tbsp hot sauce, like Frank's RedHot
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt and black pepper
• 12 large iceberg or butter lettuce leaves
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 0.5 red onion, finely diced
• 100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 tbsp plain yogurt
• 50 g blue cheese, crumbled
• Crusty bread, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Toss the chicken cubes with the garlic powder, smoked paprika, a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Season the chicken properly now — buffalo sauce is loud, but it can't rescue under-seasoned meat from the inside.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over high heat until it shimmers and the spices on the chicken are about to meet hot fat — that contact is what blooms the paprika and garlic powder into something fragrant rather than dusty.
3. Add the chicken in a single layer and fry for 5–6 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until deeply golden on all sides and cooked through. Work in two batches — don't crowd the pan, or water comes out, the chicken steams, and you lose the crust that holds the sauce.
4. Drop the heat to medium and add the butter. Once it foams, pour in the hot sauce and toss the chicken to coat. Bubble for 1–2 minutes, swirling the pan, until the sauce thickens to a glossy, clinging glaze that streaks the back of the spoon. Taste a piece — adjust salt now, not at the table.
5. While the chicken cooks, separate the lettuce leaves and arrange them as cups on a large platter. Stir the celery and red onion together in a small bowl — the raw crunch is the whole point against the soft, saucy chicken.
6. Spoon the buffalo chicken into each lettuce cup, piling it high. Top with the celery and onion mix, a few cherry tomato halves, a dollop of yoghurt and a generous crumble of blue cheese.
7. Scatter the parsley over the top, add an extra crumble of blue cheese, and finish each cup with a squeeze of lemon — the acid cuts the butter and lifts the heat. Serve straight away while the chicken is hot and the lettuce is still crackling cold.