P.F. Chang’s Fried Rice (Actual Restaurant Recipe)
P.F. Chang’s fried rice gets most of its flavor from a sauce that doesn’t appear in any of the online recipes I’ve seen. I tracked down the exact ingredients and…
P.F. Chang’s stir-fried eggplant used to be one of the best side dishes on the menu before they took it off. I tracked down the original sauce and found it’s actually two separate sauces blended together: their signature dark sauce (the same one they use on Mongolian Beef and most of their stir-fry menu) mixed with a sweet-and-sour blend the kitchen calls Chang’s sauce.
But the sauce is only half of it. Most home recipes for stir-fried eggplant end up greasy and mushy because of how the eggplant is cooked. P.F. Chang’s deep-fries it to about 60-70% done, drains it, and then finishes it in the sauce. That fry-then-stir-fry approach is the difference between silky, sauce-coated pieces that hold their shape and the oily pile of mush you get when you try to stir-fry raw eggplant from the start.
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Chinese eggplant. This is what P.F. Chang’s uses. It’s longer and narrower than globe eggplant, with sweeter flesh and thinner skin that doesn’t need to be removed (though P.F. Chang’s does peel theirs for this dish). Japanese eggplant is interchangeable, though the flesh is a bit firmer and slightly less sweet. If globe eggplant is your only option, quarter it lengthwise before making the oblique cuts because it’s so much thicker, and pre-salt or brine it to pull out extra moisture.
Minor’s Original Chicken Base. P.F. Chang’s uses this specific brand in their dark sauce. Knorr or Lee Kum Kee Asian chicken bouillon powder both work if you can’t find Minor’s.
Lee Kum Kee mushroom dark soy sauce. This goes into the dark sauce for color. It’s thicker and darker than regular soy sauce, and the mushroom variety adds a savory depth that regular dark soy doesn’t have.
Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce. The restaurant uses their Panda Brand in the green bottle. I recommend the premium oyster sauce instead. It has a richer, more concentrated flavor and you can taste the difference in a sauce this simple.
Michiu rice cooking wine. A Taiwanese cooking wine that P.F. Chang’s uses in their dark sauce. If you can’t find it, Shaoxing cooking wine is much more widely available and works well here.
Sambal Oelek. An Indonesian chili paste made from chilis, salt, and vinegar. P.F. Chang’s uses the Huy Fong brand, the same company that makes Sriracha. You’ll usually find Sambal Oelek and Huy Fong’s Chili Garlic Sauce sitting right next to each other on the shelf. Either one works for this dish. The only difference is the Chili Garlic Sauce has garlic in it.
Dehydrated minced garlic. P.F. Chang’s uses dehydrated garlic instead of fresh garlic for most of their stir-fry dishes. You’ll find it on the spice aisle at any major grocery store. It needs to be rehydrated in warm water for 20-30 minutes before using, then drained and squeezed dry. You can prep this a few days ahead and store it in the fridge and use it for anything you’d use fresh garlic for.
1. Prep the eggplant. Remove the stem end and blossom end. P.F. Chang’s peels their eggplant for this dish, though with Chinese and Japanese varieties the skin is thin enough that many people prefer leaving it on. Cut the eggplant using an oblique cut: make a diagonal slice about 1.5 to 2 inches from the end, roll the eggplant a quarter turn, and make another diagonal slice. Keep going until the whole thing is cut. Try to make your pieces slightly smaller toward the stem end because the flesh is denser there and takes a bit longer to cook.
2. Make the dark sauce. Add ¼ cup of water, ½ teaspoon of chicken base, and ¼ cup of sugar to a small pot. Bring it to a light simmer over medium heat and whisk until everything dissolves. Kill the heat. Add the soy sauce, mushroom dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice cooking wine. Whisk until combined. This is P.F. Chang’s dark sauce. It keeps in the fridge for up to a month.
3. Make Chang’s sauce. Add ¼ cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of white vinegar to a small pot over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is clear. That’s it. Also keeps for a month in the fridge.
4. Mix the eggplant sauce. Combine 3 tablespoons of dark sauce, 1½ teaspoons of Chang’s sauce, and ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Whisk until combined.
5. Rehydrate the garlic. Pour warm water over the dehydrated garlic and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess liquid before using.
6. Deep-fry the eggplant. Heat a few cups of neutral oil in a large pot or wok to 350°F. Add the eggplant and fry for about 2 minutes, or until it’s 60-70% done. You’re intentionally undercooking here because the eggplant finishes in the sauce during the stir-fry. If you overcook it now, it’ll turn to mush later. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Gently squeeze the pieces with paper towels to get rid of excess oil. Eggplant is porous and absorbs a lot of oil, so this step matters.
7. Stir-fry the aromatics. Heat a clean wok over medium heat until it starts to lightly smoke. Add a bit of oil and swirl it around. Toss in the rehydrated garlic, sambal oelek, and sliced green onion whites. Stir-fry for about 10 seconds, just until they’re fragrant.
8. Add the sauce and eggplant. Pour in the eggplant sauce, let it come to a simmer, and let it reduce by about 5-10%. Add the fried eggplant and gently turn the pieces until everything is coated and the eggplant is cooked through but still holding its shape.
9. Finish the dish. Sprinkle in the white pepper and stir until it dissolves into the sauce. Drizzle in the cornstarch slurry (2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water, stirred well right before adding) and gently turn the eggplant until the sauce thickens. Kill the heat, pour over the sesame oil, and give it one last toss to distribute it evenly.
Pre-salt or brine the eggplant for better texture. Eggplant is about 90% water, which is why it often turns to mush during cooking. Tossing the cut pieces in salt and letting them sit for 20-30 minutes draws out some of that moisture and makes the flesh denser. An even more effective method is to make a brine with about ¼ cup of table salt per liter of water and soak the eggplant for 30 minutes. It sounds counterintuitive, but the saline solution pulls moisture out more efficiently than dry salt alone. Either way, squeeze the pieces dry with paper towels before cooking.
If you don’t want to deep-fry, you can use a wok. Heat it over medium heat until it lightly smokes, add about a tablespoon of oil, and swirl to coat. Add the eggplant and cook until the edges start to brown. Eggplant is porous and absorbs oil quickly, so only add more oil in small amounts when the wok goes dry. If you add too much at once, the eggplant soaks it all up and the finished dish is greasy. This method takes about 5-10 minutes compared to 2 minutes for deep-frying.
How to pick a good Chinese eggplant. Look for a dull skin rather than shiny. A shiny skin sometimes indicates the plant has overripened. Peel back the calyx at the stem end and check the area underneath. You want it as white as possible. The eggplant should feel firm but not hard.
Make the sauces ahead of time. All three sauces keep in the fridge for up to a month. If you’re making other P.F. Chang’s dishes that use the dark sauce (like the Mongolian Beef or Beef with Broccoli), prep a batch of dark sauce and you’ll have it ready to go for multiple recipes.
This is a side dish at P.F. Chang’s, so it pairs well with any of their main courses. Their Mongolian Beef is a natural match if you want something rich and savory alongside it. For a lighter start, try their Lettuce Wraps. If you want a full P.F. Chang’s spread, add their Singapore Street Noodles or serve the eggplant over fried rice.
Stir-fried eggplant is best eaten right away. The texture changes noticeably within 5-10 minutes as the eggplant absorbs the sauce, so it won’t have the same silky quality after sitting. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. The microwave works but the texture will be softer. This dish doesn’t freeze well.
If you’re planning to serve this at a dinner party, deep-fry the eggplant in advance and save the final stir-fry step for right before you eat. The dish is at its best as soon as it comes out of the wok.
Yes, but it’s not ideal. Globe eggplant has thicker skin, more seeds, and a slightly more bitter flavor than Chinese or Japanese eggplant. If it’s all you can find, quarter the eggplant lengthwise before making the oblique cuts because it’s much wider. Pre-salting or brining is especially important with globe eggplant because it has more moisture to draw out.
P.F. Chang’s does peel their eggplant for this dish. With Chinese and Japanese varieties, the skin is thin enough that many people prefer leaving it on. Keeping the skin on also helps the pieces hold their shape during cooking.
Swap the oyster sauce for a mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce and use vegetable bouillon instead of chicken base. Everything else in the recipe is already plant-based.
They’re both made by Huy Fong. The only difference is that Chili Garlic Sauce has garlic in it. Either one works for this recipe. P.F. Chang’s uses Sambal Oelek.
