Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Sung Choy Bao)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 8, 2013
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes freezing
Yield
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as an appetizer
Ingredients
Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces2 teaspoons Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 2 teaspoons cornstarchSauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil ½ teaspoon sugar ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakesStir-Fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin½ cup water chestnuts, cut into ¼-inch pieces2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin2 garlic cloves, minced1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), washed and dried, leaves separated and left wholehoisin sauceBefore You Begin
To make an entrée, serve this dish with steamed white rice.
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces on large plate in single layer. Freeze meat until firm and starting to harden around edges, about 20 minutes.
- Whisk rice wine, soy sauce, oil, and cornstarch together in bowl. Pulse half of meat in food processor until coarsely chopped into ¼- to 1/8-inch pieces, about 10 pulses. Transfer meat to bowl with rice wine mixture and repeat with remaining chunks. Toss chicken to coat and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Whisk all ingredients together in bowl; set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over high heat until smoking. Add celery and mushrooms; cook, stirring constantly, until mushrooms have reduced in size by half and celery is crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add water chestnuts, scallion whites, and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk sauce to recombine. Return chicken to skillet; add sauce and toss to combine. Spoon into lettuce leaves and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve, passing hoisin sauce separately.
for the chicken
for the sauce
for the stir-fry
Time
1 hour, plus 20 minutes freezingYield
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as an appetizerIngredients
Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Stir-Fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
½ cup water chestnuts, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), washed and dried, leaves separated and left whole
hoisin sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Stir-Fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
½ cup water chestnuts, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), washed and dried, leaves separated and left whole
hoisin sauce
Ingredients
Chicken
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Stir-Fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
½ cup water chestnuts, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), washed and dried, leaves separated and left whole
hoisin sauce
Why This Recipe Works
This dish, popularized by chain restaurants like P.F. Chang’s and the Cheesecake Factory, is based on a Cantonese dish called sung choy bao. We started with flavorful chicken thighs and marinated them in soy sauce and rice wine. To keep the meat from drying out when stir-fried, we coated it in a velvetizing cornstarch slurry, which helped it retain moisture as it cooked.
Before You Begin
To make an entrée, serve this dish with steamed white rice.
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces on large plate in single layer. Freeze meat until firm and starting to harden around edges, about 20 minutes.
- Whisk rice wine, soy sauce, oil, and cornstarch together in bowl. Pulse half of meat in food processor until coarsely chopped into ¼- to 1/8-inch pieces, about 10 pulses. Transfer meat to bowl with rice wine mixture and repeat with remaining chunks. Toss chicken to coat and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Whisk all ingredients together in bowl; set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until smoking. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over high heat until smoking. Add celery and mushrooms; cook, stirring constantly, until mushrooms have reduced in size by half and celery is crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add water chestnuts, scallion whites, and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk sauce to recombine. Return chicken to skillet; add sauce and toss to combine. Spoon into lettuce leaves and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve, passing hoisin sauce separately.
for the chicken
for the sauce
for the stir-fry
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