P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps
The actual P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce wraps recipe with the real umami sauce, special dipping sauce, house-made chili oil, hot mustard sauce, and crispy rice sticks. The chicken is flavored with a combination of oyster sauce, Michiu cooking wine, and mushroom dark soy sauce instead of the hoisin sauce that most online recipes use. Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts are mixed into the ground chicken for texture, and dehydrated minced garlic gives the final stir-fry a smoother, more concentrated garlic flavor. Every component can be prepped days in advance, and the final cooking takes about two minutes.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 300kcal
Equipment
- 1 14-inch Mandarin Wok for the final stir-fry
- 1 Wok Spider/Strainer for removing rice sticks from oil
- 1 Whisk for mixing sauces
- 1 Hefty Storage Gallon Bags for storing prepped lettuce cups
- 1 Mixing Bowls for umami sauce and prep
- 1 Deli Containers for storing prepped components
- 1 Fine Mesh Strainer for straining chili oil
- 1 Baking Sheet for draining fried rice sticks
- 1 Infrared Thermometer for monitoring frying oil temperature
- 1 Potato Masher or breaking up ground chicken
- 1 Cheesecloth for straining chili oil
- 1 All-Clad Saute Pan for cooking the chicken mixture
- 1 All-Clad Sauce Pot for making sauces and chili oil
Ingredients
Umami Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand or Premium
- 1 tbsp Michiu cooking wine
- 1 tbsp mushroom dark soy sauce Lee Kum Kee
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Special Dipping Sauce
- 5 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce Lee Kum Kee low sodium
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tsp chili garlic sauce Huy Fong brand
- 2 tsp Chinese hot mustard
Ground Chicken Mix
- 8 oz ground chicken
- 2 tbsp water chestnuts canned sliced, drained and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp rehydrated shiitake mushrooms from dried, soaked 20-30 min, stems removed, roughly chopped
Chili Oil (Optional)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 tsp Sichuan chili flakes
- 1 tbsp dried Chinese black beans rough chopped
- 1/2 tsp dehydrated minced garlic rehydrated
- 1 tsp ginger diced
Hot Mustard Sauce (Optional)
- 4 parts Chinese hot mustard
- 1 part white vinegar
- water to thin to desired consistency
Crispy Rice Sticks
- 1 package thin dried rice noodles 3 Ladies Brand medium rice vermicelli recommended
- vegetable oil high smoke point oil for frying at 425-450°F
Final Stir-Fry
- vegetable oil neutral frying oil
- 1 tsp dehydrated minced garlic reconstituted with water, 20-30 min soak
- 2 tbsp scallion whites chopped
- 8 oz prepared ground chicken mix from recipe above
- 1/4 cup umami sauce from recipe above
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Serving
- 1 head iceberg lettuce quartered, outer leaves separated, soaked in ice water 30 min
Instructions
Make the Umami Sauce
- Add oyster sauce, Michiu cooking wine, mushroom dark soy sauce, white sugar, and white pepper to a small bowl.
- Whisk until the sugar is totally dissolved. Transfer to a covered container. The umami sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Make the Special Dipping Sauce
- Place white sugar, water, light soy sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and Chinese hot mustard in a small pot over medium heat.
- Whisk until you reach a light simmer and all the sugar has totally dissolved. Remove from heat.
- Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature before using. The special sauce can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to a week.
Cook the Ground Chicken Mix
- Heat neutral oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add ground chicken and break it up with a spatula or potato masher. You want very small pieces of chicken, not big chunks.
- About 2-3 minutes before the chicken is done and you see very little liquid in the pan, add the chopped water chestnuts and chopped rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.
- Stir the mushrooms and chestnuts into the chicken and continue cooking until the chicken is done. Remove from pan, cool, and set aside. The chicken mix can be made 2-3 days in advance and kept refrigerated.
Make the Chili Oil (Optional)
- Combine neutral frying oil, sesame oil, Sichuan chili flakes, rough chopped dried Chinese black beans, rehydrated minced garlic, and diced ginger in a small pot over medium-low heat.
- Using a thermometer, bring the temperature to between 200-225°F. Maintain this temperature for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the temperature to exceed 225°F.
- After 10 minutes, raise heat slightly to 250°F and cook for 5 more minutes, monitoring temperature and stirring occasionally. Do not exceed 250°F.
- Remove from heat and allow the oil to sit UNCOVERED for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Do not cover, as condensation can introduce moisture and ruin the oil.
- Strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 1 month.
Make the Hot Mustard Sauce (Optional)
- For prepared mustard: whisk 4 parts Chinese hot mustard with 1 part white vinegar. Thin with water to desired consistency. The sauce should be slightly runny.
- For powdered mustard: combine equal parts mustard powder with cold water and let sit for 15-30 minutes. Then whisk in vinegar (4 parts reconstituted mustard to 1 part vinegar). The longer the powder sits, the hotter it gets. Store covered in the fridge for up to a week.
Prepare the Crispy Rice Sticks
- Remove rice noodles from packaging, pull apart into small bunches, and cut or tear into approximately 1-inch pieces.
- Heat frying oil to 425-450°F. Test with 1-2 rice noodles to confirm they puff up within 3-5 seconds.
- Fry rice sticks in very small batches. They should puff up immediately and cook in just a few seconds. Flip to ensure both sides are cooked. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Once cool, rice sticks can be stored covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Prepare the Lettuce
- Remove the limp outer layers from whole iceberg lettuce. Cut in half, then quarter each half lengthwise. Remove the core from each quarter.
- Peel the outer layers off under cold running water for easier separation of whole leaves. Only the outer leaves are needed; save the inner core for another use.
- Soak the lettuce cups in ice water for about 30 minutes to crisp them up. Dry before serving. Lettuce can be stored in large zip-top bags lined with paper towels in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Final Stir-Fry and Serving
- Have all components assembled and within reach. Heat neutral oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
- Add rehydrated garlic and sauté for 10-15 seconds to flavor the oil. Do not brown.
- Add chopped scallion whites and prepared chicken mix. Cook for about 30 seconds until heated through.
- Add the umami sauce and stir until the chicken has totally absorbed the sauce, about 30-45 seconds.
- Add sesame oil around the rim of the wok and stir into the chicken. Turn off the heat.
- Serve the chicken on a bed of crispy rice sticks, with iceberg lettuce cups and special dipping sauce. Optional: serve chili oil and hot mustard sauce for tableside customization.
Video
Notes
No hoisin sauce. Nearly every online recipe includes hoisin, but P.F. Chang's doesn't use it. The flavor comes from the umami sauce (oyster sauce, mushroom dark soy, and Michiu cooking wine). Using hoisin will give you a completely different result.
The shiitake mushrooms are easy to miss. The dark umami sauce makes the mushrooms hard to see in the finished dish, which is likely why most recipes leave them out. They're a confirmed ingredient and worth including.
Dehydrated garlic, not fresh. P.F. Chang's uses dehydrated minced garlic because it doesn't burn at high wok temperatures and distributes more evenly. Reconstitute in hot water for 20-30 minutes before using.
Iceberg lettuce only. Butter lettuce looks nicer but wilts almost immediately under the hot chicken. Iceberg holds its shape. The 30-minute ice water soak makes the cups noticeably crunchier.
Rice sticks must fry at 425-450°F. Lower temperatures cause the noodles to absorb oil and turn brown. At the right temperature, they puff up white and crispy within seconds. Use a high smoke point oil and a thermometer.
Chili oil needs overnight rest. After cooking, the chili oil must sit uncovered for at least 8 hours so the flavors can infuse. Do not cover it during this time. Moisture from condensation will ruin the oil.
Ground turkey works as a substitute. If you can't find ground chicken, ground turkey is a good alternative. The umami sauce provides most of the flavor, so the difference between the two meats is minimal.
Make-ahead friendly. The chicken mix (2-3 days), umami sauce (1 week), special sauce (1 week), chili oil (1 month), hot mustard (1 week), rice sticks (2-3 days), and prepped lettuce (5-7 days) can all be prepared in advance. The final stir-fry takes about 2 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 300kcal