Takeout at Home

I love P.F. Chang's. I know, it's a chain restaurant but it can't be helped. One of my favorite is their lettuce wraps (not as great as their crispy green beans but they're darn close). Here's my take on their lettuce wraps for when I want to eat dinner at home in my pajamas and be lazy. :)

Kelly's Lettuce Wraps
- 8 dried Shiitake mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons cooking sherry
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- salt and pepper
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1-1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 ounce can of bamboo shoots, chopped up
- 1 package of Chinese cellophane rice noodles, cooked
- Iceberg lettuce leaves

Lettuce Wrap "Sauce"
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (reduced sodium is great!)
- 1 tablespoon cooking sherry
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar

Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms to rehydrate - just enough to cover. Let them soak for roughly 25-30 minutes and then drain. Remove the stems and chop up mushrooms.

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce until combined and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the sherry, water, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and chicken. Stir together until chicken is well coated with mixture.

Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of oil. After the oil gets hots, add the chicken mixture. Fry quickly for about 3 minutes, or til chicken is no longer pink. Stir constantly to prevent burning. Remove chicken.

To the same skillet, add 2 more tablespoons of oil. Add the fresh ginger, garlic, green onions, and optional chilies, if desired. Fry quickly for 45-60 seconds, or til garlic is a golden color. Do not overcook garlic, or it will taste bitter. Add the dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Fry quickly for about 2 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet and add the sauce ingredients. Cook until the sauce thickens.

Break the cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces. Spread the noodles onto the bottom of a platter. Pour the chicken mixture on top of the noodles and spoon into your lettuce leaves. Devour.