PF Chang's Luttuce Wraps

I am all for finding yummy restaurant recipes online and making them at home. It sucks when they don't turn out tasting quite as yummy as you expect. I have had the lettuce wraps at PF Chang's each time I go there...I have been there a total of 3 times. I'm not very fond of the food at PF Chang's, but I dig the Lettuce Wraps.

I found the link to this recipe on a new (well, new to me) blog I have been checking out College Food Experiences. It took me to a link on recipezaar. This recipe got nearly 5 stars and all the reviewers raved about it. And I'm not sure why. It was O.K., but I don't think it deserved 5 stars.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps:
3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut (I used cashews instead of water chestnuts - Alex and I don't really like water chestnuts and I figured the cashews would give the same consistency as the water chestnuts)

2/3 cup mushroom (I omitted this all together because I didn't have any and Alex detests them.) 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 (I didn't have hot mustard so I used horseradish)
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

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 aside. 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.

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 to the same size as the mushrooms and water chestnuts. When doing your mincing, remember to remove all labels...note the sticker I inconveniently left on the yellow pepper. LOL!

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". (Look at the way the stir fry sauce looks like 'Texas Tea, oil that is' - remember from the Beverly Hill Billy's?)

Top with"Special Sauce".

Considering the "Special Sauce" calls for 2 teaspoons chile sauce and 1 tablespoon horseradish, I expected it to be much hotter. It was bland. Next time I make this I would leave out the 1/2 cup of water from the special sauce or I would cook it down to a syrup.

I will make this again and make it better!