Wanna-be PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Why should you care about this PF Changs Lettuce Wraps Recipe? Here’s why:

So you waited until the last minute to make reservations for Valentine’s Day, and everywhere is booked. If you’re thinking you’ll hit up the local sit-down chain restaurant, think again – there’s no greater buzzkill on V-Day than having to cool your heels in a restaurant lobby for two hours. That’s right, guess who’s not getting any tonight? The early bird gets the worm, so to speak.

The way I see it, you have two options: try your chances downtown, or make something at home. And why not try cooking something yourself? Trust me – your likelihood of getting lucky will increase exponentially if you treat your date to a home cooked meal, especially if you doll it up with a few candles and a bottle of vino.

This recipe is pretty easy – my friend Lisa made it just last week, and she downright hates to cook. Despite the long ingredient list, you can throw this together in about 30-45 minutes. If you’re really pressed for time (or cash) leave out the pouring sauce. It doesn’t need it unless you’re going for that full-on restaurant taste, which I actually try to avoid.

You could even make this recipe with leftover chicken from another dish, if you’ve got some lying around. Recycle those leftovers in style!

(Photo credit: Uchu75)

Wanna-be PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Pouring sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons gluten free tamari (or regular soy sauce if you’re not concerned about gluten)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot water
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced

Chicken Stir-fry
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed to 1/2″
1 – 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, minced to the size of corn kernals
1/2 cup mushrooms, minced to the size of corn kernals
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
6 large leaves of iceberg lettuce or nappa cabbage

Stir-fry sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Begin by making the pouring sauce. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in 1/2 cup warm water, then add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and throw in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

Combine 1 teaspoons hot water with dijon mustard and garlic and set this aside in small bowl.

Combine oils and add to wok or large frying pan. Heat oil over high heat until it glistens, about one minute. Add chicken and saute until cooked through, then remove from the pan and cool. Keep oil in the pan, keeping it hot over a low flame.

Prep the stir fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.

Take pan that you cooked the chicken in (with the still warming oil, riiiight?) and turn it up to medium-high heat. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, wait one minute, and then add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and the stir-fry sauce you prepared earlier. Stir-fry everything until the mushrooms have cooked, about four minutes, and remove to a serving dish.

Add mustard/garlic mixture to the pouring sauce, 1/2 a teaspoon at time to taste.

Serve stir-fry with iceberg lettuce or nappa cabbage leaf wraps and top with pouring sauce.

You can do the same thing with ground beef, if you like – here’s the red meat version:

(Photo credit: dineanddish)

I seriously challenge you to take these up against the actual PF Changs Lettuce Wraps Recipe, and let me know what you think.