Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Sheng Cai Bao Ji)
The PF Chang's legend: savory ground chicken in cool, crisp lettuce cups — a dinner that eats like a party.
The story
Lettuce wraps turned ground chicken into a restaurant occasion. The home version is faster than delivery: one pan of garlicky chicken with a hoisin-soy glaze, scooped into cold lettuce cups at the table. Everyone builds their own — which is the actual fun.
Ingredients (6 + pantry staples)
- Ground chicken — 1 lb / 450 g
- Butter lettuce or romaine cups — 1 head
- Garlic — 3 cloves, minced
- Ginger — 1 tbsp, grated
- Hoisin sauce — 2 tbsp
- Soy sauce — 1 tbsp
Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): cooking oil, sugar (pinch). Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.
Steps
- Brown the chicken with garlic and ginger, 6–7 minutes, breaking it up.
- Add hoisin and soy; simmer 2 minutes until the meat is glossy.
- Spoon into lettuce cups at the table.
Swaps
No water chestnuts? Finely diced celery brings the same crunch. Add diced shiitake for depth. Leftovers make next-day rice bowls.
More 20-minute dishes
Silky Steamed Egg Custard (Zheng Shui Dan)
China's answer to soft scrambled eggs: three eggs steamed into custard so smooth it jiggles.
Tomato & Egg Noodle Soup (Xi Hong Shi Ji Dan Mian)
The soup version of China's national home dish — brothy, sweet-sour, 15 minutes of actual cooking.
Weeknight Mapo Tofu (Ma Po Dou Fu, simplified)
The Sichuan legend, reduced to one pan and six ingredients — numbing, spicy, spooned over rice.