Complacent Cook No More: Lettuce Wraps with Chicken and Eggplant

When I think of lettuce wraps, I think of P.F. Chang’s, which is probably the only place I’ve ever had them. This positive association stems partly from the tasty filling—a mix that includes chicken, water chestnuts, and green onions—and the fun of filling each lettuce cup yourself, instead of a chef doing it for you. That interactive aspect separates this appetizer from your typical finger food.

But it wasn’t until I was flipping through a cooking magazine and saw a recipe for lettuce wraps that it occurred to me that I could make them at home. This is so unlike me, as I’m usually planning from the first bite how I’m going to replicate restaurant food at home. Perhaps it was a case of complacency; why bother, when PFC did them so well? The magazine recipe (and enticing photo) snapped me out of it. I found a recipe I liked even better on The Kitchn, and soon got to work.

I made a switch that I wasn’t sure would work, but happily it did: I swapped mushrooms for eggplant, diced into small cubes and sautéed until soft. My taste for mushrooms ebbs and flows, and I’ve been on a serious ebb for a few years now. So out with mushrooms, in with eggplant, the vegetable that looks so humble but with heat becomes luxuriously silky and absorbs all flavors it meets. The swap actually wasn’t that unusual; mushrooms are also used for their flavor-absorbing abilities.

I’ve cooked plenty with chicken and eggplant, but aside from drizzling it over my pho, I’d never come across hoisin sauce much, although I’m sure it’s flavored many of the Asian dishes I’ve eaten. It seems like an Asian barbecue sauce—glossy and slightly sweet, with a deep flavor that enhances other ingredients (perfect for plain fare like chicken and eggplant). This sauce, which also includes rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, has many possibilities beyond this dish. In these lettuce wraps, it makes them absolutely addictive.

The lettuce leaves won’t all be cup-shaped (I think PFC selects only the best ones) but why waste a good lettuce leaf? If the leaf is flat, fold it around the filling taco-style. Experiment with different fillings; I’d love a tofu and/or shrimp version. And maybe with peanut sauce? Don’t waste time being complacent like me—this is your call to make this PFC staple your own.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from The Kitchn

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus more for cooking
1 teaspoon cornstarch
13 ounces ground chicken
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 eggplant, diced small
¼ cup diced green onions
1 head of Bibb lettuce, leaves removed and stacked on a plate

1. In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, and cornstarch until well combined.
2. In a large skillet, heat a little vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and cook for about 8 minutes, or until done; as it cooks, use a large spoon to break up the meat into small crumbles. When done, transfer the chicken to a small bowl.
3. Heat a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat in the same skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add the garlic and eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant has softened and cooked through.
4. Add the cooked chicken into the eggplant mixture, followed by the green onions and the sauce. Stir well to combine.
5. Fill the lettuce leaves with the filling, making as many as you want (or until the ingredients run out). With some of the flatter leaves, place the filling in the middle and fold them up, taco-style.