Lettuce Wraps have been around probably for thousands of years originating in Southeast Asia, but recently have become popular in many restaurants, across the U.S and around the world. The obvious reason is that with concerns about carbs this is a perfect meal, tasty, fresh and nutritional. However these were popular in Thailand and southwest asia before the move toward a lighter carb diet.
The first I heard about them was when my boss at the restaurant said, "You have to go try the Lettuce Wraps at PF Changs!" Now you can find them on hundreds of menus around the US where they opened and around the world.
But I don't think this is the end of the story. What is important in food history is a lady named Celia Chang
Probably the most fascinating thing about this story is how the P and the F came together and most important the Chang. Cecilia Chiang is the mother of the P which stands for Phillip Chang. Cecilia Chang is a chef worth noting as she has advanced Chinese Cuisine in America the same way Alice Waters has advanced Modern cuisine and has been called "The Julia Child of Chinese Cuisine". She made Chinese cuisine exciting and elegant at her famous restaurant "The Mandarin".
Her son Philip who was born in Shanghai and came over with his mom growing up in the restaurant business. After high school Philip went to Art School in Los Angeles and when his mother expanded down to Beverly Hills, Phillip took over managing her restaurant.
Later on Phillip started his own bistro and building on his mothers cooking, simplified it, (took out the fillers) like cornstarch that made things a bit "gloppy" used fresh ingredients, with a focus on nutrition. Also he liked the idea of having "Small Plates" like Lettuce Wraps.
One of his patrons was Paul Flemming (The "F" in PF Chang) who is a co owner of Ruth Chris Steakhouse and convinced Philip to start a restaurant down in Scottsdale, Arizona which Pauls said was lacking in good Asian Cuisine.
Philip designed the menu and Paul designed the service which would be more American style service with a great wine menu. The restaurant was an immediate hit and this style of Asian cuisine is copied and emulated all over the world now. While there are traditions in this dish, like Philip feel free to be creative.
One of the most versitale tools in the kitchen, for scraping flour off the counter after making bread, to lifting up lots of crumbs, and loosening up stuck on food.
