PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps Copycat Recipe

This copycat PF Chang’s Lettuce Wrap is one of my favorite items on the menu. This savory and slightly garlicky filling combined with the crunchy and refreshing lettuce is a combination that is so good you’ll skip takeout and make it instead!

🔍 COPYCAT SECRETS UNCOVERED!

Don’t miss these tips to be sure your Lettuce Wrap is identical to PF Chang’s:

• Cold Lettuce, Hot Filling
  • For the best and most authentic experience, you’re going to want to make sure that your lettuce stays in the fridge until the absolute last second. The contrast between the cold lettuce and the hot filling is going to be the best part of this dish that keeps you coming back for more!
• Make your Sauces Ahead of Time
  • The best thing about the special sugar sauce and the mustard sauce is that they only get better the longer they sit. I would mix the two sauces up before you make the chicken so you can get the best flavor possible.
  • Mirin and Gochujang are the two must-have ingredients to make these sauces perfectly authentic!
• Small Pieces of Chicken
  • This recipe is going to taste more authentic if you get your chicken as small as you can – a meat chopper makes this super easy. This will allow you to get a balanced bite of lettuce and chicken within every bite. 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make these delightful lettuce wraps:

• Chicken Mixture
  • Olive Oil
  • Ground Chicken – you can also do ground pork if you’d prefer it!
    • I used ground pork in these Thai Lettuce Wraps – so good!
  • Water Chestnuts – these add that crunch you love!
  • Diced Mushrooms – straw, shitake, oyster
  • Diced Green Onion – again, adds a nice crunch
  • Minced Garlic – you can use fresh garlic cloves or jarred garlic
  • Iceberg Lettuce – mini Romaine leaves are also great for a handheld lettuce wrap
• Sauce Ingredients
  • Sugar
  • Soy Sauce
  • Mirin – Mirin is a sweet rice wine – if you don’t have that you can use rice wine vinegar
  • Ketchup
  • Lemon Juice
  • Sesame Oil – this is one of my favorite ingredients – it adds so much flavor with just a TINY bit! 
  • Hot Mustard – you don’t have to use a Chinese hot mustard but it’s so tasty I ended up using it for a lot of things in the kitchen
  • Gochujang – or red thai chili paste – this is another sauce that I ended up using so many times – even in a steak recipe!
  • Worcestershire Sauce – probably the most used sauce in my house!

How to Make the Lettuce Wrap Recipe? 

The PF Chang’s Lettuce Wrap recipe is easy to make:

• DISSOLVE sugar in a small bowl with water. Add soy sauce, mirin, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil to the mixture. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve. This will make your special sugar sauce. 
• COMBINE hot water, hot mustard and gochujang in a separate bowl. Whisk and set aside. This is your mustard sauce.
• BRING oil to high heat in a skillet. Saute ground chicken and diced onions for 4-5 minutes, being sure to break up the chicken into small pieces.
• ADD more oil, crunchy water chestnuts, mushrooms and garlic to chicken.
• PREPARE the stir fry sauce in a boil by mixing the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mirin.
• ADD stir fry sauce to the pan and saute mixture. Transfer chicken mixture to a serving platter.
• REMOVE your special sugar sauce and your mustard sauce and whisk them together.
• SERVE chicken mixture in lettuce leaves and spoon the mixed sauce on top and fold it taco style or serve on the side for dipping! No need for any salt or pepper!

Supplies Used

• Non-Stick Fry Pan – this Caraway ceramic pan is my absolute favorite in the kitchen! The non-stick surface makes it a breeze to clean and it works on every type of stovetop!
• Meat Chopper – this is essential for making sure that you get the right texture on your meat!
• Silicone Whisk – lots of sauces means lots of mixing. This silicone whisk is perfect for making sure that I’m not losing sauce by it sticking to my mixing utensil!

Tips, Tricks & FAQs

• What do you think is the best lettuce for lettuce wraps? I like to use Boston lettuce but to stay true to the original dish – I used iceberg lettuce. Romaine lettuce would also work. You really just want a firm leaf that can hold some substance. 
• Do PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps have nuts? No! The crunch comes from water chestnuts (which are not actually nuts!). They do have onions and mushrooms though – so yummy! 
• Can I use ground turkey instead of chicken? Absolutely, ground turkey, ground pork or ground beef would be great protein substitutes for the chicken that would still allow for that same great, savory flavor!
• Is this recipe gluten-free? Not with the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce I used since both typically contain gluten. However, swapping the soy sauce for tamari or another GF alternative and checking your Worcestershire sauce for the GF label could make it GF-friendly!
• How do I store leftovers? Store the chicken mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, keeping the lettuce separate so that they can stay crisp. Reheat the fillingf in a skillet before serving again!

More Chinese Takeout Recipes

• Copycat PF Chang’s Fried Rice Recipe
• Panda Express Broccoli Beef Recipe
• Panera Teriyaki Chicken & Broccoli Bowl Recipe
• Frozen Potstickers in the Air Fryer
• Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

More Chicken Recipes

• Applebee’s Southwest Chicken Bowl
• Chicken Enchilada Bowl
• Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl