PF Chang's China Bistro

P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a USA casual Chinese restaurant chain based in Arizona. The name is a combination of the Chinese restaurant's founders, Paul Fleming and Phillip Chiang. The decor is Asian and the average menu item is about $10. Some of the more popular menu items include P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps, garlic chicken, and Mongolian beef.

This past weekend I had dinner at PF Chang's China Bistro in Princeton, NJ...the food was good although not authentic Chinese and the service was good. A step above mall food court chinese but Chinatown NYC is still the best. Here are the recipes for some of the dishes we had.



P. F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnuts
2/3 cup mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce
Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 teaspoons water
1-2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste
Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.
Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".
Top with"Special Sauce".



PF Changs Mongolian Beef

Sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get a major spatter when adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

2. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

3. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

4. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.



P.F. Chang's China Bistro Singapore Street Noodles
Singapore Sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup curry powder
1 pinch turmeric (optional)
1/4 cup lite soy
1 cup vegetarian oyster sauce
1/4 cup Sriricha chili sauce
1/4 cup ketchup

2 gallons water
1 pound rice stick noodles
4 tablespoons canola oil
8 ounces medium-size shrimp
8 ounces chicken, julienned
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 cup cabbage, julienned
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 bunch scallions, green parts, cut 2 inches long
1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup fried shallots
1 lime, quartered

Combine vinegar, curry powder and turmeric; mix until powders are well dissolved. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili sauce and ketchup; mix well. Set aside.

Bring water to a rolling boil. Place rice sticks in boiling water for 2 minutes; drain, then immediately rinse under rapid running hot water for 1 minute and drain well. Toss noodles with 2 tablespoons canola oil; set aside.

In a hot wok stir-fry shrimp and chicken in 2 tablespoons canola oil until just done, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cabbage, carrots and tomatoes; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add noodles; stir-fry 1 minute more. Add 1 cup vinegar mixture; stir-fry until ingredients are well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add scallions, cilantro and sesame oil; toss briefly.

Garnish with fried shallots and a lime wedge.

Makes 4 servings.