Asian Lettuce Bundles with Hot Mustard Dipping Sauce
An appetizer made famous by PF Chang's Chinese Bistro, but this is not their recipe; it's something different that can be made with either ground turkey or pork.
The origin of this recipe is indeed from PF Chang's China Bistro’s famous appetizer, called Lettuce Wraps, but this is not a copycat of the PF Chang's version, in fact it is quite a bit different. For starters, PF Chang’s uses ground chicken. This recipe calls for ground turkey or ground pork and I prefer the latter. If you want the PF Chang's version, there are copycat recipes all over the Internet. This version came from one of My Number One Fan's healthy eating, low-carb magazines, and I am sorry to say that I cannot site the source because the page from which this recipe was photo-copied does not carry the name of the magazine. We’ve been making this dish for years.
PF Chang’s China Bistro
Ever wonder what the “PF” in PF Chang’s China Bistro stands for? The restaurant concept was founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang. PF stand for Paul’s name, and the partners decided to give Philip’s last name an Americanized phonetic spelling.
This recipe requires Wasabi paste, which can normally be found in the Asian section of larger grocery retailers, or it can be ordered on line.
You will also need a good quality, fiery English Mustard. Personally, I like to make that from scratch using Coleman's mustard powder but any jarred variety of Chinese mustard will work as well, and indeed, Coleman’s has their own prepared jarred version.
The original recipe from this unknown periodical source added water chestnuts to this dish, which is one of the hallmarks of the PF Chang’s version. We chose to leave them out, preferring instead to use chopped peanuts. But you can add water chestnuts if you like, well drained, finely diced and sautéed for 8-10 minutes.
Finally, this recipe is unique from most others I have seen in that it does not use Iceberg Lettuce, like PF Chang's. Yours certainly can, of course, but I prefer this original recipe that uses Butter Lettuce, otherwise known as Boston Bibb. The leaves make for a smaller, more malleable “cup” and a more delicate texture than Iceberg. However, Hearts of Romaine and Green Leaf Lettuce leaves also work well for this dish and we’ve used them both.
Asian Lettuce Bundles with Hot Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh ground pork or turkey
- 2 tsp wasabi paste
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp jarred or fresh minced ginger root
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce (like, Kikkoman Less Sodium)
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (like, Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 4-6 tbsp finely chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1/4 cup hot English mustard (like Coleman's)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp peanut oil
- 12-15 Boston Bibb lettuce cups
Instructions
- Combine half the cilantro, the mustard, honey and the toasted sesame oil and mix well.
- Set aside for at least a half-hour to give the flavors time to marry before finishing the recipe.
- Combine the ground pork or turkey, wasabi paste, garlic and ginger in a bowl and mix well.
- Add the light soy sauce and mix again.
- In a skillet or wok over medium high heat, heat the peanut oil until it is shimmering, then stir-fry the pork or turkey until it is no longer pink, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining half of the cilantro, the dark soy sauce and half of the green onions, and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes.
- Allow the liquid to reduce slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped peanuts.
- Serve the meat mixture along side the remaining chopped green onions, the lettuce leaves and the dipping sauce.
- The bundle is meant to be eaten with your hands. To serve, spoon the meat and a few green onions in a lettuce cup, then spoon on the sauce, or fold the lettuce bundle and dip in the sauce.
