It’s another take-out, fake-out! I’m full of them, aren’t I? :)
This is actually from the archives because I made this way back when and the photos some how got deleted when I migrated my blog over to a new design. Trust me, you don’t need to see those old photos!
I wanted to bring this back in the spotlight because it’s one of Jason & I’s favorite things to eat and it’s somewhat healthy so if you’re on a healthy kick, you’d appreciate this dish as well.
Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of P.F. Chang’s. I don’t really like the fancy American-Chinese cooking – especially when it’s at a “fancy” restaurant where they up-charge you like crazy for such a small amount of food. HOWEVER, the one thing I’m a huge fan of at P.F. Chang’s is their chicken lettuce wrap appetizer dish. We ALL know what it is and I’m sure 80% of you have had it once before.
Well, they don’t exactly give you a ton and for $7.95, you could make this dish like 3 times AND be completely stuffed. Yes, Jason and I eat these as our meal. It’s healthier than the restaurant quality ones and you can control what how much of what goes in it (i.e.: salt content). You also get as many lettuce leaves as you want :) serve this with a side of white rice and you can call this a light and healthy meal for 2013!
Put together a little collage of the steps, but really, it’s super simple and you probably didn’t need this visual :) but you basically chop everything super fine, especially the chicken. The most of the grunt work comes from the fine chopping!
If you don’t know what water chestnuts look like, or haven’t ever seen them in stores and don’t know what to look for, they’re pictured the upper right hand corner! It’s usually in the Asian food aisle.
From the Archives: Take-Out, Fake-Out Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Yield: 8-10 lettuce wraps | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or 5 tenderloins, cooked (I boiled mine in water for 7 minutes) and finely chopped
4 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
4 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 8 oz. can of water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1/2 cup reconstituted shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
Romaine or iceberg lettuce
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and vegetable oil. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the sesame oil then add the onion, garlic, water chestnuts, and shiitake mushrooms. Cook the veggies until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the finely chopped chicken to the skillet then pour the sauce you created in step 1 over the entire mixture. Stir to combine. Let cook together for 3-5 minutes.
- Serve hot in beds of the romaine or iceberg lettuce with a side of white rice.
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I LOVE pf chang’s lettuce wraps! My husband is going to go crazy when I make these – great recipe!
I adore Lettuce wraps. I dont fell bad eating like 20 of them!
Such a great light bite – these sound really tasty!
I’ve been meaning to hunt down a recipe for these babies, and look, you did my job for me!
these look so good! and perfect to make after work. I am going to have to have a go at this recipe asap!
This is perfect! We’ve been looking for a good chicken lettuce wrap! My husband LOVES them! Thanks!
Love this! Lettuce wraps are a favorite in my house :)
ooooo, Julie – I want these! I use to work at the Cheesecake Factory in Highschool and practically lived off their lettuce wraps… must make these!
I should just go hide under a rock right now or rather maybe that’s where I’ve been because I’ve never had it but I’ve heard of it and I want it so so much. Seriously.
I seriously LOVE lettuce wraps!!!
My hubby and I love the lettuce wraps from PF Changs. The restaurant is up near his office so once in a while he’ll pick some up for me to fill that craving. Now I can’t wait to try these so I can get my PF Changs lettuce wrap fix anytime!
i love PF Changs wraps and did try making it once minus the water chestnuts. I am going to have to try this again :) so glad you are doing more of takeout-fake outs
My husband and I love PF Chang’s but you are right it isn’t the cheapest meal. When we do go, ordering the chicken lettuce wraps is a given. I am totally going to try out your version.
I love lettuce wraps, these look so delish!
Dang, I hope my old photos get deleted when I upgrade my site soon. LOL.
I’ve been absolutely craving lettuce wraps. I really don’t care for the P.F. Changs version at all either. Yours look amazeballs!!
Haha, don’t worry! They won’t. I had a weird process for mine when I used to blog. I didn’t use the WordPress uploader but instead uploaded my own photos onto my server. It’s probably just not linked up correctly and I didn’t bother to correct the link ;)
You and my husband have the exact same opinion of PF Changs. If he is going to get Chinese, he wants it from a place with Asian workers, where it is large portions, and cheap!
But I LOVE their lettuce wraps!
I’m with ya, sista! Not a huge fan P.F. Chang’s, expect for their lettuce wraps and sticky short ribs. Other than that, it’s overpriced and typical. However, I’m loving this recipe and seriously can’t wait to make these. The hubs comes home on Friday and I think this is the dish to make him smile:)
These look good…..I haven’t had lettuce wraps in years……this will inspire me to make them soon……thanks!
Oh man! Love this one too Julie! Matt would really love this one too. I think Im going to have to make it for him soon; he really loves PF Changs lettuce wraps. Great photos too as always! :)
It’s been way too long since I’ve been to PF Changs! I need to find one…
Thanks for the recipe in the meantime!
I love lettuce wraps. These look fantastic! I may swap the chicken for eggplant. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Great recipe! I love making things like this at home versus eating out, so much healthier and less expensive. Thanks for sharing.
: )
Jen
I totes made these this past weekend! Truly the best thing at P.F. Changs. I didn’t use as much brown sugar, but I think my recipe could have used a little more so I am going to tweak it this weekend.
These wraps are perfect ~ now I need to learn better knife skills to make that fine dice ;)
This is one of my most favorite things to eat! Love it!
A classic! I’ve never found a Chinese restaurant to fall in love with yet since moving from the U.K. I was spoiled back home as one of my friends family owned theee best restaurant ever! I ate there almost every night :)
I’ve heard so many raves about PF Chang’s lettuce wraps, but I’ve never tried them. I’m sure your homemade version is way better anyway, so I’ll just have to go that route!
My husband and I just made these the other night for our anniversary! We used a whole pound of overpriced ground chicken and it was still cheaper than that place you mention ;) We were too lazy to make rice and ended up eating the whole thing, but it made a TON. It’s so good and so easy!
Made for dinner tonight and my family loved them <3
We just made these for lunch and they are unbelievable!!! Delicious!!! Can’t wait to make this dish again.
I LOVE the lettuce wraps at PF chang’s… but totally agree about them over-charging. I will have to try these! :) I bet ground chicken would work well too!
We tried on Saturday for lunch and it was a hit! My daughter who is usually a picky eater, loved these wraps too. Thanks Julie… you made our day!!!
LOVE these! My husband’s enthusiasm over lettuce wrapped food was low. I made these anyway, and we both loved them! I feel like I’m making healthy food, and he likes it, anyway! We can’t get enough of these!
I love lettuce wraps, theses are a must try on my list. Everything on your site looks so yummy!
Just made these. DELICIOUS!!!!