Chinese Lettuce Wraps San Choy Bow

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

San Choy Bow – Chinese Lettuce Wraps

The Chinese name for Lettuce Wraps is San Choy Bow which is how it’s written in menus at Chinese restaurants here in Sydney, though the spelling varies widely from place to place and I’m yet to find a definitive answer for what the proper spelling is. I may not know how to spell it, but I do know you’re going to love them!!

How to make Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are made with ground / mince meat and vegetable filling with a savoury Chinese sauce spooned into lettuce cups, then wrapped into a roll shape to eat. For a great Lettuce Wrap, it all comes down to the sauce. It takes more than just a splash of soy sauce to make a truly delish Lettuce Wrap. Get the sauce right and you can pretty much put anything into the filling. And it is one of those rare recipes that is genuinely great made entirely vegetarian. I would just as happily scoff down a meat free version of this as I would a traditional pork version.

What goes in a Lettuce Wrap filling

I don’t think there are definitive rules for what goes in Lettuce Wraps, but the common ingredients I see at Chinese restaurants are:

pork (chicken and turkey are ideal subs)water chestnutsonion

After this, things get a bit blurred. Other common ingredients which I’ve included in my recipe are:

Baby cornShiitake or other mushroomsCarrots

And those that border more towards “Western” Chinese have all sorts of other vegetables in it, like normal corn, capsicum etc.

Make it real with water chestnuts!

If you can find them, I really urge you to use Water Chestnuts. It doesn’t have a strong flavour, but the unique thing about Water chestnuts is the texture. Even canned, it is crunchy and a bit juicy and it’s a quintessential part of the Chinese Lettuce Wrap experience. ☺️ Nowadays in Australia, they are found in both the Asian section and canned vegetable section of supermarkets (Woolies, Coles etc). Lettuce wraps are a fantastic quick and easy meal that also happens to be healthy. In Chinese restaurants, it’s served with crisp Iceberg Lettuce which tends to crack when folded. For a more practical option, use soft lettuce leaves like Butter Lettuce or Bib Lettuce (US). Enjoy!– Nagi x

More quick and easy Chinese restaurant favourites

Chinese Chicken and Corn SoupChop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)Chow MeinCashew ChickenBeef and BroccoliGeneral Tso’s ChickenSweet and Sour PorkCrispy Honey ChickenBrowse all Chinese restaurant recipes