Let us eat shrimp in a cup...

Whenever I have Chinese food, chicken lettuce cups are usually part of the order.  The cold, crisp iceberg lettuce filled with the sweet and salty filling is such a great pairing.  I've never attempted to make it until tonight. I wanted to use shrimp instead of chicken though. What I came up with was surprisingly tasty and (I hope!?) good enough to share with all of you fine people.  It was a light dinner for two people but you could serve it as an appetizer or part of a meal.  I'm left with just enough room in my belly for some dessert!

Shrimp Lettuce Cups

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb shrimp, deveined with shells and tails removed, cut into bite size pieces
8 oz can of sliced water chestnuts (Asian food section), well drained and chopped
2 tbsp of cilantro, chopped
2 stalks green onion, sliced thin
2 tsp garlic, minced fine
1/4  tsp ginger, crushed or powder
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sherry or another similar alcohol
1 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tsp of corn starch mixed well into 2 tbsp of water
small head of iceberg lettuce, separated into cup shaped pieces
Hoisin sauce (optional, it doesn't really need it)

This is a very fast process so have everything ready to go before you heat up your pan or wok.  In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, , sherry, ginger, and brown sugar together.  Use a paper towel to dry your shrimp and water chestnuts so that there isn't excess liquid on them.  Heat up your oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Add your shrimp, water chestnuts and garlic and saute for a minute and a half. Then add the soy sauce mixture and stir everything around for another minute scraping up any brown bit on the bottom of the pan. Finally add in the corn starch/water solution and keep stirring it all around. Sauce should be thicker now. Turn off your heat and throw in the green onion and cilantro. Mix it all up gently. Transfer to a serving bowl.  Fill the lettuce cups with some of the shrimp and enjoy!