Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Exact PF Chang’s Copycat!) (VIDEO)
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Enjoy Chicken Lettuce Wraps just like PF Chang’s (but even better!) at home in just 30 minutes! The chicken filling is saucy, full of flavor, and topped with crispy rice sticks on top of crisp lettuce leaves – these are SO GOOD!
Watch the Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe Video!
A Note from CJ
Make these Chicken Lettuce Wraps!
These PF Chang’s copycat chicken lettuce wraps are the easiest way to impress – the chicken filling is delicious and have so much texture, topped with the fried vermicelli noodles that everyone loves! This is why I love developing “copycat” recipes – it’s surprisingly easy to recreate your favorite dishes at home!
Try some of my most copycat recipes like Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad, Din Tai Fung Green Beans, and Din Tai Fung Fried Rice; Benihana Fried Rice, Panda Express Chow Mein, Raising Cane’s Sauce and Chick-Fil-A Sauce!
Ingredient Tips
- chicken thighs – while you can use ground chicken, I actually recommend hand mincing chicken boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Hand-minced chicken results in a chunkier, less uniform texture that holds up nicely when mixed with the mushrooms and water chestnuts. I also think chicken thighs tastes better than ground chicken. You can also use ground beef or turkey.
- water chestnuts – I used canned water chestnuts.
- shiitake mushrooms – I recommend using dried shiitake mushrooms that you rehydrate yourself – you’ll need the water for this recipe. If you don’t have shiitake mushrooms on hand, you can substitute with another mushroom of your choice.
- vermicelli rice noodle – use Three Lady Brand or Lungkow Brand for the signature crispy rice sticks to top Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I’ve test a lot of brands and these two brands actually puffed up in the oil.
- iceberg lettuce – use a cold, crisp lettuce that can hold up to being used as a wrap. Butter and iceberg lettuce are the best options. Romaine lettuce can also work but they’ll be less like wraps and more like scoops.
- mushroom water – this is water from the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms; if you used fresh mushrooms or didn’t use shiitake mushrooms, you can substitute with broth or stock.
- sake – You can substitute sake with another dry cooking wine (such as white wine or sherry) or chicken broth.
How to Make Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Season the Chicken, Make the Sauce and Fry the Noodles – Finely mince the chicken, season with salt, white pepper, sesame oil, and baking soda, then marinate for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, mushroom water, light and dark soy sauces, vinegar, sake, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Heat neutral oil to 400°F in a wok and quickly fry the rice vermicelli until they puff up then immediately drain on paper towels. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok.
Cook the Chicken & Vegetables – Over high heat, stir-fry the garlic and scallion whites for 15 seconds, then add the chicken and cook over high heat for 2 minutes until 80% done. Add the mushrooms and water chestnuts and cook for 1 more minute, then pour in the sauce and stir-fry until thickened and glossy. Finish with scallion greens and a drizzle of sesame oil, and serve the savory chicken mixture alongside the crispy fried noodles and iceberg lettuce.
PRO TIPS
CJ’s Storage Tips
The Chicken Lettuce Wrap filling can be made ahead of time (up to 48 hours) and then warmed up quickly on a pan or in the microwave right before serving.
Store any leftover filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Store any leftover lettuce separately – wrap the clean/dry lettuce leaves in paper towels and keep them in a closed plastic ziploc bag in the vegetable crisper drawer of the refrigerator. PF Changs will submerge the lettuce in ice water and then dry right before serving so the lettuce is crisp and fresh.
If you tried this Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Exact PF Chang’s Copycat!)
Equipment
- Outdoor Wok Station not required, but really fun to cook on!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb chicken thigh, minced (see note)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp Baking soda
Sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp mushroom water
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp sake
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil, plus more for finishing the dish
- ½ tsp cornstarch
Oil & Vegetables
- 3 cups neutral oil
- 4 oz vermicelli rice noodle, use Three Lady Brand or Lungkow Brand
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 scallion, sliced, greens and whites divided
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water, drained, squeezed dry and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup water chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- Finely mince the chicken and add it to a mixing bowl. Season the chicken with salt, white pepper, sesame oil, and baking soda and mix to combine and marinate for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the oyster sauce, mushroom water, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, sake, sugar, sesame oil and cornstarch.
- Heat the neutral oil to 400F in a wok over high heat. Add in the rice vermicelli and let them puff up (about 5 seconds) and immediately remove the noodles and transfer them onto a paper towel to drain. Remove the frying oil leaving 2 tbsp in the wok.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in the wok and add the garlic and scallion whites and stir fry for 15 seconds. Turn the heat to high and Add the chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes over until 80% cooked through, then add the mushrooms and water chestnuts and stir fry for another minute until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Add the sauce and stir fry over medium high heat until the sauce is absorbed and slightly thickened and glossy. Add in the scallion greens, mix and finish with a drizzle of sesame oil.
- Serve the chicken with the fried noodles and pieces of iceberg lettuce and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- chicken thighs – while you can use ground chicken, I actually recommend hand mincing chicken boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Hand-minced chicken results in a chunkier, less uniform texture that holds up nicely when mixed with the mushrooms and water chestnuts. I also think chicken thighs tastes better than ground chicken. You can also use ground beef or turkey.
- water chestnuts – I used canned water chestnuts.
- shiitake mushrooms – I recommend using dried shiitake mushrooms that you rehydrate yourself – you’ll need the water for this recipe. If you don’t have shiitake mushrooms on hand, you can substitute with another mushroom of your choice.
- vermicelli rice noodle – use Three Lady Brand or Lungkow Brand for the signature crispy rice sticks to top Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- iceberg lettuce – use a cold, crisp lettuce that can hold up to being used as a wrap. Butter and iceberg lettuce are the best options. Romaine lettuce can also work but they’ll be less like wraps and more like scoops.
- mushroom water – this is water from the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms; if you used fresh mushrooms or didn’t use shiitake mushrooms, you can substitute with broth or stock.
- sake – You can substitute sake with another dry cooking wine (such as white wine or sherry) or chicken broth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Copycat PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe was originally published in July 2024, and updated in January 2026.
Why would you absorb that Tremendous amount of oil with a paper towel, leaving only 2 tablespoons. You better rethink that.
Hi Mark, I’m referring to the puffed vermicelli noodles, not the oil! I updated the instructions to clarify a bit – sorry it was unclear!