If you’ve ever eaten at a P. F. Changs, then chances are that you’ve tried their chicken lettuce wraps. It is consistently their number 1 selling dish, and in my opinion, one of the best damn appetizers ever invented. It’s simple in its ingredients, light enough to not spoil the main course, full of wonderful flavors, and most importantly eaten with your hands. All important qualities for an appetizer if you ask me.
And while I tip my hat to P. F. Changs for inventing chicken lettuce wraps, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I prefer making them myself at home. In fact, making our own chicken lettuce wraps is not only a lot cheaper than eating out but it is also incredibly easy to make. All you need is a wok/skillet, and 25 minutes of free time to whip these up for your family and friends to enjoy. Sounds pretty good right? So if you’re ready to start making your own chicken lettuce wraps then let’s continue with the recipe.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- When it comes to the chicken you have two options, you can either use ground chicken, or you can mince up a chicken breast. Personally, I prefer mincing up whole chicken breasts as it allows a nice variation of size.
- You can also use ground turkey instead of chicken if that is easier to find in your grocery store.
- If you want a dipping sauce for these chicken lettuce wraps then simply double the ingredients of the sauce and reserve half.
- As far as what lettuce you should use, I recommend that you keep it traditional and use iceberg lettuce. However, it can be troublesome to peel the leaves of an iceberg so if you are concerned about that then I recommend you use romaine or butter lettuce.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
1 Lb of ground chicken, or 1 lb of chicken breasts, minced
1 Medium onion, finely diced
½ Cup of red bell pepper, finely diced
8 oz can of water chestnuts, finely diced
½ Cup of minced shiitake mushrooms stems discarded
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of neutral flavored oil
Head of lettuce
For the sauce:
3 Tablespoons of soy sauce
3 Tablespoons of hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon of dry white wine, or sherry
1 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 Teaspoon of sesame oil
Garnish:
Chopped green onions
Instructions
- Prep the lettuce: Begin by cutting off the end of the lettuce, then slowly peel off each individual leaf.
Wash each leaf of lettuce, pad them dry with some paper towels, and then put them on a plate and in your fridge to keep cool.
- Brown up the chicken: Add one tablespoon of oil to a wok, or skillet and place over high heat. Then add the chicken and cook until it has lightly browned up about 5 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside.
- Saute the veggies: Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok/skillet and add in the onion and bell pepper.
Saute these for 5 minutes. Then add in the garlic and shiitake mushrooms and saute everything for another 2 minutes.
- Finish the dish: Add back the chicken along with the water chestnuts and the sauce ingredients. Stir everything together for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce has reduced and covered everything.
- Serve the stir-fried ingredients with the lettuce leaves on a plater and let everyone make their own lettuce wraps. Enjoy!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Lb of ground chicken or 1 lb of chicken breasts, minced
- 1 Medium onion finely diced
- ½ Cup of red bell pepper finely diced
- 8 oz can of water chestnuts finely diced
- ½ Cup of minced shiitake mushrooms stems discarded
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons of neutral flavored oil
- Head of lettuce
For the sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons of soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons of hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of dry white wine or sherry
- 1 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon of sesame oil
Garnish:
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
- Prep the lettuce: Begin by cutting off the end of the lettuce, then slowly peel off each individual leaf. Wash each leaf of lettuce, pad them dry with some paper towels and then put them on a plate and in your fridge to keep cool.
- Brown up the chicken: Add one tablespoon of oil to a wok, or skillet and place over high heat. Then add the chicken and cook until it has browned up about 5 minutes. Take the chicken out and set aside.
- Saute the veggies: Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok/skillet and add in the onion and bell pepper. Saute these for 5 minutes. Then add in the garlic and shiitake mushrooms and saute everything for another 2 minutes.
- Finish the dish: Add back the chicken along with the water chestnuts and the sauce ingredients. Stir everything together for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce has reduced and covered everything.
- Serve the stir-fried ingredients with the lettuce leaves on a plater and let everyone make their own lettuce wraps. Enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From Joy Food Sunshine
From Dinner At The Zoo
