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Chinese Lettuce Wraps (San Choy Bow )

By:Nagi
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One of my favourite Chinese starters – Lettuce Wraps with pork or chicken, loads of hidden crunchy vegetables in a tasty savoury brown sauce, bundled up in fresh lettuce. Also known as San Choy Bow, it’s arguably the ultimate “just happens to be healthy” food in the whole wide world …..

Close up of Chinese Lettuce Wraps

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!!

Close up of Chinese Lettuce Wrap being held by a hand, about to be eaten

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.

Filling for Chinese Lettuce Wraps made with pork or chicken and vegetables in a savoury brown sauce.

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 chestnuts
  • onion

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

  • Baby corn
  • Shiitake or other mushrooms
  • Carrots

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).

A can of Water Chestnuts

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

Close up of Chinese Lettuce Wrap being held by a hand, about to be eaten

San Choy Bow
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San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Cups) recipe video!

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San Choy Bow - Chinese Lettuce Wraps on a plate ready to be eaten

San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Wraps)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 20 mins
Appetizer, Dinner
Chinese
4.97 from 56 votes
Servings3
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Recipe video above. One of my favourite starters at Chinese restaurants, the ultimate (almost) carb free healthy dish of all time! It all comes down to the Sauce - with a great Sauce, you can change up the filling to your taste. I've copied the filling served by Chinese restaurants but feel free to substitute with other vegetables or make it entirely meat free (this is a great recipe to make vegetarian).

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1 1/4 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
  • 3 tbsp water, separated
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 1)
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (or sub Mirin or dry sherry, Note 2)
  • 1 tsp white sugar (can omit)

Filling (Note 6)

  • 1 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 clove large garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
  • 300g / 10oz pork mince (ground pork) (Note 3)
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small carrot, finely chopped
  • 100g/ 3.5oz canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped (Note 4)
  • 5 baby corn, canned or fresh, finely chopped (Note 4)
  • 5 mushrooms, finely chopped(shiitake is best, I used Swiss Brown)

Serving

  • 8 leaves large or 16 - 20 small lettuce, preferably soft (Note 5)
  • Crushed peanuts
  • Finely sliced scallions / shallots

Instructions

  • Mix cornflour with 1 tbsp water until lump free. Then add remaining Sauce ingredients and mix.
  • Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and ginger, give it a quick stir then add onion.
  • Cook for 1 minute then add pork. Cook pork until it turns white.
  • Add all the vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes until the carrot is softened and pork is cooked through.
  • Add Sauce and cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until it thickens and glossy, coating the Filling.
  • Transfer Filling into serving bowl. Lay out lettuce leaves, peanuts and scallions on the side.
  • To serve, spoon some Filling into a lettuce leaf. Top with peanuts and scallions, bundle it up and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

1. Light soy sauce adds the salt and the dark soy sauce adds a touch of colour. You can sub the dark soy with more light soy sauce, or just sub both the light and dark with ordinary soy sauce. The filling will just be a bit lighter in colour. Don't just use all dark soy sauce - flavour is way too strong - or with a thick sweet soy sauce like kecap manis.
2. Chinese cooking wine - sub with Mirin or dry sherry. For a non alcoholic option, use chicken broth/stock (low sodium) in place of the Chinese wine AND water in the Sauce.
3. Protein - Also great with chicken but I prefer pork because it's not as lean and has slightly more flavour. Chinese restaurants typically use pork. Never seen it with beef or lamb! Can also sub with 2 1/2 cups of chopped veggies of choice.
4. Water chestnuts - see in post for image. These are a key ingredient in San Choy Bow as served at Chinese restaurants here in Australia, but can be skipped. They have a natural light flavour, but it's the texture that is unique - a fresh crunchiness.
Nowadays these are sold in both the Asian and canned vegetable section of major supermarkets.
5. Lettuce - Typically served at Chinese restaurants using crisp iceberg lettuce leaves which are cut into neat rounds so they are all the same size. My preference is to use soft lettuce leaves like Butter Lettuce or Bibb Lettuce (US) because iceberg has a tendency to crack when rolled to eat, causing juices to run out. I used Baby Gem Lettuce in the photos which come in twin packs at Woolworths.
6. Customise - I use 2 1/2 cups of chopped vegetables. You can substitute with whatever chopped vegetables you want, though I urge you to stick with the onion.
The meat can be substituted with 2 1/2 cups of any vegetable or chopped firm tofu. For a super quick version, make this with pork + frozen diced vegetables. Works a treat!
This recipe makes enough for 3 as a main (4 if it's 2 adults and 2 kids) or around 6 as a starter.
7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings. This is a fantastic healthy dinner!
San Choy Bow nutrition* 
* Originally published February 2017, updated for housekeeping matters.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 255gCalories: 253cal (13%)
Keywords: Lettuce wraps, San Choy Bow
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When Dozer the golden retriever ate a lady beetle

San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Cups) - A great San Choy Bow starts with a great sauce. Get that right and you can make this with almost anything! www.recipetineats.com

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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179 Comments

  1. Jo says

    My 16yo who is not at all adventurous with his food and wanted baked beans on toast for dinner loved this! Nagi, you have single handedly turned my boring eater into a kid who will now happily eat a range of foods.

    Reply

  3. Dianne says

    Hi Nagi, than you this is delicious!!! and Hubby can’t get enough. I had made a large batch and wondering if the filling is suitable for spring rolls? a bit concerned it maybe a little too runny.

    Reply

  7. Kathleen says

    Made these tonight with chicken instead of pork. They were amazing! Made with the spring rolls. Nagi’s recipes haven’t ever failed me yet! Better Han take out!

    Reply

  8. Mary says

    Hi Nagi, have you tried making the meat mixture in advance and reheating it? Just wondering if that would work as I’m all for making life as simple as possible when friends come round.

    Reply

  9. Sue says

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe! Didn’t make any changes, delicious exactly as written. Here in California we top our lettuce cups with hoisin sauce or a plum sauce. Thank you for this recipe!

    Reply

    • Nagi says

      Hi Mel, yes if you double the meat, all the other ingredients should be doubled. You can adjust the servings size here and all the ingredients will adjust for you. N x

      Reply

      • Mel says

        5 stars
        My son, his wife and my toddler grand sons enjoyed this meal I brought for them last night. I made the x5 and the serving dish was empty at the end of the meal. Served this with fried rice and Chinese veges for an authentic Chinese dine in for them. Thank you for this recipe.

        Reply

  11. Redonia Moore says

    If you want to see Dozier crack and eat a pecan then crack one in front of him, at his level where he can see what you are doing, then feed him some of the pecan meat. Then crack another one and place it in front of him and let him do the rest! I believe he will get the jest of it rather quickly! Pecans are a natural food of dogs raised with pecan trees.

    Reply

  12. Redonia Moore says

    Love all your recipes! This is wonderful. FYI; Most golden retrievers love pecans but what is unique is some of these dogs crack the shells with their teeth and pick out the meat. Does Doizer? The lady bug incident made me think of it. We had pecan trees and my dog used to eat a few every day.

    Reply

  13. Renee says

    5 stars
    Another fantastic recipe. Whole family loved it. I omitted the baby corn and used pork mince. Next time I will double so we can have the leftovers the next day. Delicious.

    Reply

  14. Lynne says

    Thanks so much, Nagi; you are a inspiration. I was wondering what to cook for family dinner tomorrow that will tempt mr 8 yr old gluten and dairy free vegetarian. He will just love this.

    Reply

  15. Marie T. says

    That was delicious!!! My husband was blown away! What an easy recipe to double to have for leftovers or guests.

    Reply

  16. Cheryl says

    5 stars
    So very delicious…finger licking good in fact! I instead used the carrot shredded & raw for extra crunch when I sprinkled on the crushed nuts and shallots. Definitely will make this again. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  17. Kat says

    Hi Nagi,
    I love your recipe but I need to ask one question. Sometimes in restaurants there’s a very crispy addition to the mince? Could this be bean vermicelli or something like.? Grateful for your advice

    Reply

    • Nagi says

      Hi Kat, all restaurants have their own recipes – I’ve seen bean sprouts, vermicelli but most commonly water chestnuts for crunch 🙂 N x

      Reply
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