- 1 year ago
Top Secret Recipe - S01E08 - P.F. Chang's
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00:00Behind the most iconic American foods are the recipes which made them famous.
00:05And big companies, with big money, have kept those secret formulas under lock and key.
00:11Until now.
00:13My name is Todd Wilber. I'm a food hacker.
00:16And I'm setting out to crack the codes to the most secret recipes in the country.
00:21But for each one, I've got only a few days to figure it out.
00:25Crazy? Maybe.
00:27But this is my mission.
00:29As I criss-cross the country in my mobile food lab,
00:32I'll use my taste buds, a little science, undercover work,
00:36and I'll even get down and dirty to reveal the recipes you love to eat.
00:41So, let's get cracking.
00:43I'm here in Scottsdale, Arizona to attempt to clone P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce wraps.
01:01It's a dish that has inspired many imitations from many other chains,
01:04but none are as popular as this one.
01:06My job is to figure out the culinary secrets that make this dish so special.
01:10And I don't have a lot of time.
01:12So, let's get cracking.
01:14P.F. Chang's was founded in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993
01:18through a partnership between restaurateurs Philip Chang and Paul Fleming.
01:22Soon, P.F. Chang's signature appetizer, the chicken lettuce wrap,
01:26skyrocketed in popularity and spawned imitations on restaurant menus across the country.
01:31Few have even come close to matching the quality and complexity of the original lettuce wrap.
01:36So, this recipe is sure to be a challenge.
01:42How are you? Rick Federico.
01:43Good to meet you.
01:44Nice to see you.
01:45I'm a big fan of your food, lettuce wraps especially.
01:47Yeah, thank you.
01:48I was hoping I can meet with you and maybe you can tell me a little bit about the recipe, the history of it.
01:54There's a lot of things that are open book.
01:56I'll be happy to sit down and share that stuff with you.
01:58There's a lot of things that I'm not going to talk about.
02:00But I'll tell you what, let's go sit down and visit and we'll take it from there.
02:03Okay, sure.
02:04Great, let's go to my office.
02:05All right.
02:09Secure.
02:10Oh, I see.
02:11Oh, yeah.
02:12You can't be too safe with this thing.
02:13I mean, this is...
02:14I think everybody...
02:15Wait, what's going on here?
02:16This is our security room.
02:18Yeah?
02:19Yeah, our safe and we keep all of our recipes in there.
02:21Who's this right here?
02:22That's Philip.
02:23Philip Chang.
02:24Wow.
02:25This is his family recipe.
02:26I mean, it goes way back.
02:28His mom, Cecilia, his grandmother.
02:30This has been a family recipe way back.
02:32This is an old recipe.
02:34Absolutely.
02:35It seems like Philip will definitely be a useful resource.
02:37I just need to find out if he even lives around here.
02:39You were talking about Philip Chang.
02:42Yeah.
02:43Is he here?
02:44He's actually been in town the last couple of days.
02:46But Philip's a tough guy to get a hold of.
02:48You know, he keeps things pretty close to his vest.
02:50I mean, you might be able to try and contact him.
02:52I don't think you're going to get much from him.
02:54Is there any way I could, like, I don't know, see one of your kitchens or...
02:58What I'll do is I'll send you down to our VP of Culinary Development, Eric Justice.
03:02Okay.
03:03He's in our test kitchen.
03:04He'll kind of show you around a little bit.
03:06He's not going to give you much, but you'll get a chance to kind of see how we do things.
03:10That'd be huge if I could just check it out.
03:12I'll make the call while you head down towards the test kitchen.
03:14Okay.
03:15All right.
03:16Thank you, Rick.
03:17Good luck.
03:18Are you Eric?
03:19I am.
03:20I'm Todd Wilber.
03:21Rick sent me down here.
03:22He told you I was coming?
03:23Yeah.
03:24Okay.
03:25Good.
03:26Looking for something?
03:27Lettuce wraps.
03:28I need to learn about these lettuce wraps.
03:29And he said you would be the guy to talk to.
03:30I'll give you a couple things.
03:32Are you just about to make some now?
03:33Is that what's going on here?
03:34Yeah, we're prepping some up.
03:35Can I see what you have over here?
03:36Yeah.
03:37Here's the chicken.
03:38So there's your chicken.
03:39It looks like it's chopped up, ground.
03:41Yeah.
03:42How do you make it like this?
03:43Ground.
03:44It's not like hamburger, though.
03:45It's not ground like a hamburger.
03:46There's big chunks here.
03:47I bet I could use a food processor for that.
03:49You can try.
03:50Water chestnuts.
03:51Water chestnuts.
03:52No magic there.
03:53It doesn't have to be uniform.
03:54You're just looking for relatively the same size.
03:57Okay.
03:58Good.
03:59Pretty straightforward.
04:00Okay.
04:01I've heard a couple things about these mushrooms.
04:02Shiitake is what you want.
04:03Okay.
04:04That's what I'm looking for.
04:05Dry mushrooms that you rehydrate?
04:06Correct.
04:07Why do you use a dry?
04:08Just intensity of flavor.
04:09Yeah, they're very intense.
04:10Yeah.
04:11Now we need to talk wok.
04:12The most important part.
04:14Yes.
04:15Cantonese-style wok is a big double-hander.
04:17Northern-style, we use northern-style.
04:19And even before you start cooking, you're talking about seasoning a wok.
04:22So I can't just go grab a new wok off some shelf
04:25and expect that it's going to make something like your lettuce wraps.
04:27You could do that.
04:28I have to break that wok down.
04:29Yeah.
04:30You know, it's a 45-minute process to do it.
04:31Really?
04:32Yeah.
04:33The longer you have one seasoned...
04:34The better?
04:35The better.
04:36All right.
04:37So got to have a special wok.
04:38Yep.
04:39We need to start with that.
04:40We got to talk about this.
04:41What's going on here?
04:42Because I don't have this in my food truck.
04:43It's like cooking on a jet engine.
04:44Whoa.
04:45Yeah.
04:46Don't get in there too close.
04:47Look at that thing.
04:48That is like a jet engine.
04:49Yeah.
04:50I wasn't kidding.
04:51My food truck does not have this.
04:52Yeah.
04:53You're going to need something like this.
04:54What's the reason for this type of heat?
04:57We want things to cook really fast and really quick.
05:01One very important thing we got to talk to you about here is the lettuce cups.
05:05This is the iceberg lettuce.
05:07You cut the bottom off, it looks like, right?
05:09Yeah.
05:10Take this, put it in water.
05:11And we have a real particular spec on this, five inches.
05:14So when you eat this, then you don't have too much lettuce.
05:18So now we need to fill this baby right here.
05:20Oh, I'm telling.
05:21You want me to show you how to make that?
05:22Sure.
05:23No?
05:24No.
05:25Yeah, but I need to know...
05:26Oh, I'll get Daryl to show you how to make it.
05:27Oh, I'm sorry.
05:28I need to know the sauce.
05:29It's done.
05:31Brown stuff.
05:32Can I see that?
05:33Sure.
05:34Oh, I think I know what this is.
05:36All right, Todd.
05:37Here's the goods.
05:38This is just a tease, man.
05:39I need to see how you do the rest of it before we eat it.
05:42This is the sauce.
05:43Can I see that?
05:44Sure.
05:45So this is the sauce you cook it in.
05:47Oh, cool.
05:48This is super dark, intense sauce right here.
05:54Woo!
05:55I know.
06:00Wow.
06:08So...
06:09Wow.
06:10It's strong.
06:11You're combining several ingredients into this sauce and then reducing it down to create
06:15this very intense flavor, right?
06:18Very intense flavor, yes.
06:19It's got sweetness.
06:20It's salty from, I guess, soy.
06:22There's some soy in there.
06:23But what makes it so sweet?
06:26Uh, the other ingredients.
06:27The other ingredients?
06:28Yeah.
06:30Crisp, cool lettuce to start out with.
06:33You got a little soy kicking in, right?
06:36Then the heat comes.
06:37Back in.
06:38Right.
06:39There's a lot to do here.
06:40There's a lot to figure out here.
06:41You got your work cut out for you.
06:43I really appreciate it.
06:44Work on that wok skill.
06:45Okay.
06:46Figure out how to get that wok seasoned.
06:48Okay.
06:49All right, good.
06:50And I'll just be taking that thing with me.
06:52Eric, thank you for showing me what you did show me.
06:55Yeah.
06:56All right.
06:57Good luck to you.
06:59Hey, Rick.
07:00Welcome back.
07:01Yeah.
07:02How was the visit?
07:03How was Eric?
07:04Great.
07:05Did he figure it out?
07:06Well, no.
07:07He left some things out.
07:08But I think I can clone your lettuce wraps in three days.
07:15Really?
07:16Yeah.
07:17So all these restaurants in America have been trying for years,
07:19and you can do it in three days?
07:20Well, I'm going to try.
07:22All right.
07:23Let's make it interesting.
07:24What do you think?
07:25There's got to be something on the line.
07:27Let's say we get some judges.
07:28Okay.
07:29If I can fool two out of three, that's a win for me.
07:33Then I've done it.
07:34Then I've done my job.
07:35All right.
07:36So if you get two out of three, I'll give you, say,
07:38one of our Lucky Cat dining cards,
07:40which means you can dine in any one of our restaurants on us.
07:43Really?
07:44I mean, I'm pretty confident you're not going to get this,
07:46so I'm willing to step up and do that for you.
07:48What if I could fool just one of the judges?
07:50Is there a way we could get something for the fans?
07:52Let's say I give you 10,000 lettuce wraps,
07:55and you can give them to all your fans.
07:57Love it.
07:58What if you get zero?
07:59How about this?
08:00I saw you've got a big white truck out there.
08:02I think that's your mobile lab.
08:04How about I add a little bit of color to it?
08:06We'll wrap your truck with PF Changs.
08:09So you'll be a mobile billboard, let's say, for how about two weeks?
08:13I've got to ride around in that truck to other states, other cities.
08:17Exactly.
08:18Perfect.
08:19It'll be beautiful.
08:20Oh, boy.
08:21Okay.
08:22Okay, listen.
08:23I don't plan on losing.
08:24I'm willing to fool at least one of these judges.
08:25All right.
08:26That's a deal.
08:27Show me.
08:28Okay?
08:29All right, bud.
08:30All right.
08:31See you in a couple days.
08:32All right.
08:33Bye.
08:34Bye.
08:35Okay, game on.
08:36I've got a few clues to get me started.
08:37Let's do this.
08:38Coming up, no more horsing around.
08:40I've got to nail this recipe, right?
08:48Today I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona,
08:50and I have three days to clone one of PF Changs' revered recipes,
08:54their chicken lettuce wraps.
08:56Back at R&D, I learned the main ingredients of the lettuce wrap filling.
09:00As for the sauce, the only thing I know at this point is that it contains soy sauce.
09:05But I did get to taste it, so I have some ideas.
09:08Now I've just got to find a nice spot to set up shop.
09:14I'm heading to the desert in my mobile food lab to do some cooking.
09:18I don't have any samples of the actual sauce,
09:20so I'm basing my first batch on a typical stir-fry sauce.
09:23Two teaspoons of soy sauce.
09:25One tablespoon of water.
09:27Two tablespoons of mirin.
09:30Mirin is kind of like sake.
09:32That's going to add some of that sweetness.
09:34But this is going to add a lot, this oyster sauce.
09:37This is a sauce made from cooking oyster with some sugar added.
09:40Look at how thick that is.
09:41We have our sweet.
09:42We have our salty.
09:43We need our sour here.
09:45Two teaspoons rice vinegar.
09:47Imagine that this is not thick enough.
09:49I wonder if we took this and thickened it.
09:53Put this over heat.
09:55See what happens.
09:56Now that we've got the sauce for the filling started,
09:58time to take a crack at the filling itself.
10:00I think we need to get these mushrooms rehydrated.
10:03What are you soaking them in?
10:04A liquid.
10:05A liquid.
10:06Dried shiitake mushrooms.
10:07I'm going to just throw these in this warm water.
10:09And I think if I just add a little bit of salt to this,
10:12maybe I can duplicate that rehydrating solution they used.
10:17That's nice.
10:18Let's chop mushrooms.
10:19They're a little tough, but I think when we cook them,
10:22they'll get a little bit more edible.
10:24We've got just over a half of a cup here.
10:27Let's go with that.
10:28We'll just say quarter cup chopped scallions.
10:31Eight-ounce can of water chestnuts.
10:33Water chestnuts grow once a year in China,
10:36underwater, in mud.
10:38All right, let's do some chicken.
10:40At R&D, they said they grind the chicken.
10:43I think I need a food processor for this.
10:45I think that would be best.
10:46If you want it, you know, ragged and coarse
10:48and not uniformly chopped, get Medieval on it.
10:52This is our filling for the lettuce wraps.
10:55Let's talk wok.
10:56I've got this wok here that I seasoned a little bit.
10:59This was a new wok not too long ago
11:01that's been rubbed down with oil,
11:03then put into an oven, and this is what you get.
11:06Doesn't look as cool as theirs.
11:09You want that nice black steel kind of finish.
11:11Is it going to work?
11:12I don't know.
11:13That's all I've got.
11:14And this is my flame.
11:15This is as high as it goes.
11:16Is that going to work?
11:17I don't know.
11:18Okay, let's get it nice and full of oil,
11:20coating the wok, filling in those pores.
11:25That's hot oil.
11:26Let's pop in some chicken.
11:29See how it looks.
11:30Because I didn't see the actual cooking,
11:32I'm not sure when to add the ingredients to my wok.
11:35All right, there it's brown.
11:36I think the sauce goes in now.
11:38These flames are not as high as what they have at BF Chang's.
11:43Let's put in the veggies right now.
11:44I'm putting in the vegetables last
11:46because they take the least time to cook,
11:48and I don't want to burn them.
11:49Let's take this off and taste it.
11:52There's mine, and here is the real thing.
11:55It's quite clear that they're a different color.
11:58This is much darker.
11:59This is sort of a tan color.
12:01Just on looks alone, I'm done.
12:03I need to get a food processor.
12:05That's probably going to be the best way
12:06to get my chicken this size.
12:08BF Chang's first.
12:09I'm going to try and get a little bit of everything.
12:12Great flavor.
12:13Great flavor.
12:14Good balance.
12:15Now mine.
12:18Too much salt.
12:19I'm going to cut back on the soy.
12:21This has a sweetness that mine doesn't have.
12:24Starting out of the gate, I'm way off.
12:26I need to make a few adjustments.
12:28That was version one.
12:30This is version two.
12:32But even after two attempts,
12:33I'm still not figuring out how to get my chicken the right size,
12:36my sauce the right color and taste,
12:38and finally, I'm not getting that smoky flavor,
12:41which means I may need to get my hands
12:43on a properly seasoned wok.
12:44I need to get more clues.
12:48I planned ahead for this one.
12:50While back, got a job as a waiter at BF Chang's.
12:54Uh, you guys hiring?
12:56You have a seat over here?
12:57You want an application now?
12:58Okay, sure.
12:59James Morrison.
13:01This will get me into the back of the house,
13:03into the kitchen where hopefully
13:05I can pick up some secrets to those lettuce wraps.
13:08Trying to get into the kitchen.
13:09Maybe try and get some ingredients in these test tubes.
13:13I'll fill these test tubes with whatever I can get.
13:18Hi, uh, Kevin.
13:19I mean, uh, Brian.
13:21Where do you want me to start working?
13:23Which tables?
13:27Yeah, okay.
13:28How y'all doing?
13:29Welcome to BF Chang's.
13:30Good.
13:31Hi, you guys don't have menus, do you?
13:33Let me get you some menus.
13:35Menus.
13:38It's a grinder.
13:39Ah, so this is the size of the die
13:41on the meat grinder they use
13:42to get the chicken the right size.
13:45Some menus.
13:46Kevin?
13:47Brian.
13:48Oh, sorry.
13:49Thanks.
13:50There you go.
13:51What's good here, man?
13:52Lettuce wraps.
13:53You want to get the wraps to start,
13:55and then I'll come back and...
13:56Anything else, or does it have to be chicken?
13:58Uh...
14:00Chicken.
14:01Okay.
14:02Lettuce wraps, please.
14:03Lettuce wraps.
14:04My table said easy on the garlic in this.
14:07Is there garlic in it?
14:08Yeah.
14:09Yeah, so just kind of easy on the garlic.
14:10Easy on the ginger.
14:11Did you do easy on the ginger?
14:13Okay, good.
14:14Yeah, just the garlic then.
14:18Hey, okay.
14:20I waited for it.
14:21Fresh.
14:22Yeah, hot.
14:23There you go.
14:24There's your lettuce.
14:25I'll be right back.
14:26All right.
14:27Yeah, you guys know what you would like?
14:28The lettuce wraps are great.
14:30I'm going to start with that.
14:31One more lettuce wrap, please.
14:33These guys out here are super sensitive to salt.
14:36Is there a lot of soy in that?
14:38Yeah, there is.
14:39A lot of soy, yeah?
14:40Yeah.
14:41Black mushroom soy sauce.
14:42Black mushroom soy sauce?
14:43Yeah.
14:44It's a richer soy sauce.
14:45Oh.
14:46That must be what's giving the sauce
14:47its signature color and flavor.
14:49Somebody said they wanted
14:50a little more lettuce wrap sauce.
14:52Yeah, do you have a little thing to put it in?
14:58Thanks.
15:00I've managed to snag some of the sauce they use
15:02to cook the chicken in.
15:03Now I've got to sneak it into my test tubes.
15:08Hey, sorry it took so long.
15:11There you go.
15:12Here's some lettuce.
15:13I forgot the spoon for that.
15:15How are you guys doing?
15:16There you go.
15:17I'll go find you menus.
15:19I'm so sorry.
15:20I'm so sorry.
15:21I'll get you a towel.
15:22I'll get you a towel.
15:25You put some seasoning on the chicken?
15:27Yep, salt and white pepper.
15:28Salt and white pepper, that's it?
15:29Maybe throw a little extra on there or something?
15:31Yeah, no problem.
15:32Great.
15:33I'm so sorry.
15:34Is this your first day?
15:35I'm so sorry.
15:36Are you serious?
15:37I'm so sorry.
15:38Okay, we'll get this cleaned up.
15:39How are you guys doing?
15:40No water.
15:41We're okay.
15:42No water.
15:43Okay.
15:44I am not a good waiter,
15:45but I got some of the sauce
15:47and some of the salt and white pepper.
15:50Now it's time to put these new clues to work.
15:57How are y'all doing?
15:58Welcome to P.F. Chang's.
15:59I went deep undercover at P.F. Chang's
16:00to unravel the secret of the lettuce wraps.
16:03I learned they use garlic in the filling
16:05and that they season it with salt and white pepper.
16:08And they use a quality black mushroom soy sauce
16:11in the sauce they cook the chicken in.
16:13I also found out the actual size of the die on the grinder
16:16they use to grind the chicken.
16:19With this new information,
16:20I'm going to a Chinese market to get some ingredients.
16:23Here you go.
16:24I found a jet burner.
16:25Fire that up.
16:26That should give us a big flame.
16:28And a grinder with the right size grinding die.
16:31I'm going to try two tablespoons of this black soy sauce.
16:34Two tablespoons of oyster sauce.
16:36We can compare it now to this sample here that I got.
16:39Let me just do a side-by-side here.
16:42Sweet, not too salty.
16:45Something is different here.
16:47I'm going to kill the vinegar.
16:48Also the mirin.
16:49A quarter cup of granulated sugar.
16:54Hmm.
16:55Getting closer.
16:56Let's put it on the chicken.
16:57See how it tastes.
17:00Chicken looks good.
17:01Seems like it's a good size.
17:03Okay.
17:04Here we have the jet burner.
17:06Got a hose.
17:08Going down to a propane tank.
17:10Let's open it up.
17:13Got to be honest with you.
17:15I've never used one of these before.
17:17So, camera guys, this could be interesting.
17:21Let's fire it up.
17:22Whoa.
17:23How's that light?
17:24Oh, it's got an igniter in it.
17:25I don't even need this.
17:26That is hot.
17:28Now this is really hot.
17:31That's going to melt the truck.
17:32Whoa.
17:33This is already melting right here.
17:36Look at that.
17:38Up here, I can feel the heat.
17:40Right up here, we may melt that.
17:44I'm going to try and not catch you guys on fire.
17:48I think we burned our chicken.
17:49This thing really works good.
17:51Let's start it over.
17:52We're getting a lot of that smoke again.
17:54Cooks fast.
17:55Sauce in.
17:56Water, chestnuts, shiitakes, a little garlic.
18:00Nice color. Look at that.
18:01Green onion.
18:02Using the wok on the jet burner cooked the chicken and vegetables just right.
18:05Looks a little better, doesn't it?
18:07This is the real PF Chang's.
18:09Looking at them side by side, we're doing okay on color.
18:11Looks like we're doing okay on the size.
18:13The grinder got the chicken the right size,
18:15and the black mushroom soy sauce helped me get it the right color.
18:18The real test is a taste test.
18:20Let's see what's going on here.
18:23Real one.
18:24Mine.
18:25I can already see their sauce is thicker.
18:27It's got maybe cornstarch in there that's creating a thicker sauce.
18:31Let me try this one first.
18:35Good flavors.
18:36Nice balance.
18:37Not too salty, not too sweet.
18:38Mine.
18:42These do not taste the same.
18:45Too much of something.
18:46A little too salty.
18:47Too much soy.
18:48I need to bring that black soy sauce down a little bit.
18:51It's a lot of work to do, but it's missing a flavor.
18:53I'm not really sure what that is.
18:54I don't know.
18:55It's missing an ingredient.
18:57I've got to find out what that missing flavor is.
18:59Also, I think my wok isn't giving my chicken that signature smoky flavor like PF Chang's.
19:04I need to figure out how to season this one or find a seasoned wok.
19:08That's going to be super important because it's giving me an off taste.
19:10That's sort of a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth.
19:13That's not good.
19:15It's now day two and my immediate mission is to somehow get my hands on a properly seasoned wok.
19:21Luckily for me, I still work for PF Chang's.
19:26Hey, guys.
19:27Can I get the lettuce wraps without the sauce?
19:29Is that possible?
19:30Yeah.
19:31Can I just bring that over there for a second?
19:33It's clean.
19:34I already cleaned it.
19:35It's got some stuff on it here.
19:36Let me just fix that for you.
19:38I was just going to clean it.
19:41They told me I should clean it.
19:43You can't take the wok.
19:44No?
19:45No.
19:50Wow.
19:51You ever get burned?
19:52These flames are hot.
19:53I love watching this.
19:54Where's the…
19:55What do you got?
19:56No, I'm looking for the dishes.
19:57You can't do that.
19:58This?
19:59You can't do that.
20:00What?
20:01I was bringing it to get it washed over there.
20:02No, man.
20:03You're done.
20:04I'm done?
20:05Yeah.
20:06Guy here is trying to steal the wok.
20:08Okay, so not only was that a complete bust, but I got canned too.
20:16It looks like I'm going to have to figure out how to properly season my own wok.
20:20All right.
20:21Here we go.
20:22But in order to do that, I'm going to have to get some help from an old friend.
20:25He's back.
20:27Hey, how's it going, Eric?
20:28How are you?
20:29Sorry to bug you.
20:30Can I come in for a second?
20:31No worries.
20:32Come on in.
20:33This wok, I think, is giving my lettuce wraps a metallic taste.
20:36You can't use that.
20:37It's not going to work.
20:38What do I do?
20:39You need a black steel wok.
20:41Now, what's the difference?
20:43Well, that's stainless steel.
20:45This is black steel.
20:46Black steel is a little more porous.
20:48It can be seasoned.
20:49The pores open up.
20:50Stainless steel, very tightly bound.
20:52So what happens is you're building up carbon on the outside of it versus actually seasoning this steel.
20:58No wonder.
20:59Okay.
21:00How do I do this?
21:01Luckily for you, I got the stuff to show you, and I'm feeling generous.
21:04What is all this here?
21:06I like the old school method of using Chinese chives.
21:10We're going to clean it first, and then we're going to actually season it and sear it.
21:14So we want flame.
21:15Okay.
21:16Can you hold onto that for me?
21:17What is this?
21:18That's pork fat.
21:19So what you want to do is swirl it around in there real fast.
21:23And that thing's hot.
21:24Yeah.
21:25There's an alkalinity to this that helps pull some of this metal off here.
21:28I smell it.
21:29Rinse that out.
21:30Okay.
21:31Now pork fat.
21:33So we've opened up the pores with the Chinese chives.
21:37Right.
21:38And now we're refilling those pores.
21:40See how I'm starting to get that oil in there?
21:42Right.
21:43So it's simultaneously doing two things.
21:45It's seasoning and sealing.
21:47Okay.
21:48I can take that out and just stir that around.
21:50Okay.
21:51See how I'm starting to get a little bit of a shine?
21:53Yeah.
21:54Dump most of that out.
21:55Uh-huh.
21:56Then you're going to let that cool.
21:57And then do it again.
21:59Sorry.
22:00I didn't turn the hood on.
22:02You're still going to have a hard time doing this.
22:03We've cooked thousands of lettuce wraps in those woks.
22:06And over time, that seasoning really helps.
22:09So your recipe's going to have to be really good.
22:11Where do I get a black steel wok?
22:16How about I lend you one?
22:17Really?
22:18You would do that?
22:19I just happen to have one in the back, not seasoned.
22:21You've got enough hurdles to get over on this.
22:23Yeah?
22:24That would be incredible.
22:25All right.
22:26Let me grab that.
22:27Okay.
22:28Sure.
22:29Back there.
22:30Great.
22:31Okay.
22:32So now we're talking.
22:33Yeah.
22:34Thank you, sir.
22:35All right.
22:36Good luck.
22:37I'm off.
22:38Got to find some pork fat.
22:41Thanks to Chef Eric, I now have a black steel wok.
22:44But in order to get my flavors like theirs, this wok is going to need work.
22:47I'm just going to do this over and over until we have a really nicely seasoned wok.
22:54Here we go.
22:55More Chinese chives.
22:56I think I got hot oil in my eyes.
22:58More pork fat.
22:59Ow.
23:01Damn, it's hot.
23:02More pork fat.
23:03Again, it's filling the food truck full of smoke.
23:06I can barely breathe.
23:07But it's worth it.
23:08It's worth it, man.
23:10I think we're good.
23:12All right.
23:13That is a well-seasoned wok.
23:16I think we're ready to make lettuce wraps.
23:18All right.
23:19Make the sauce first.
23:20I'm going to add in now one tablespoon of hoisin sauce.
23:23I feel like I'm still missing an ingredient in the sauce that's giving it its signature sweet flavor.
23:27So I'm thinking hoisin sauce might be it.
23:29P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps are kind of thicker.
23:32They've got this gummier texture.
23:34I want to add a slurry, something that's going to thicken it.
23:37Cornstarch.
23:38That'll thicken it a little bit.
23:40We don't want a super thick filling.
23:42Just mix this until the cornstarch dissolves.
23:44And then we can add this to our sauce.
23:47Okay.
23:48Sauce is done.
23:49Get our chicken cooking.
23:51Cup of chicken.
23:52We're not getting that carbon on the outside of the chicken now.
23:55It's a nice color.
23:56I love this wok.
23:57Finely chopped water chestnuts.
23:59Mushrooms.
24:00Here we go.
24:01We're getting the smoke.
24:02So get that smoky flavor from the super hot wok into the food.
24:04Beautiful.
24:05Hit it with the sauce.
24:08Okay.
24:09Get that caramel color now.
24:10Looks nice.
24:13Okay.
24:14So this is P.F. Chang's right here.
24:17And this is mine.
24:18Time for a taste test.
24:20P.F. Chang's first.
24:21Let's load one up.
24:23We'll just let this guy sit right there.
24:26I'll load my clone.
24:27I like the texture that's going on here.
24:29The sauce is thickened now.
24:31Before it was just too loose and crumbly.
24:33The real one.
24:37Always good.
24:38Now, T. Wilbur's.
24:44Doing better.
24:45Not perfect.
24:46Garlic helped.
24:48Poison helped.
24:50This wok is money.
24:51This is the way to go.
24:52We got that smoky taste now.
24:54A lot of the ingredients are right, but something is still wrong with the sauce.
24:57I have to figure out what that is.
24:59I only have one day left to figure this out.
25:01Right now, the experts will definitely know the difference.
25:05Coming up, see if my fortune will take a turn for the better.
25:09This is a good time for you to take a risk.
25:11You will succeed.
25:13Nice.
25:17It's now the final day of the challenge, and my wraps still aren't perfect.
25:20I was able to track down Philip Chang before he left town.
25:23He's agreed to meet me at one of their local restaurants.
25:26So, hopefully, I can learn a few things from the master himself.
25:30Philip Chang.
25:31That's me.
25:32Todd Wilbur.
25:33Hi, Todd.
25:34Thank you so much for meeting me.
25:35Welcome.
25:36I've been writing about you and honoring your recipes for years.
25:42I want to talk to you about the lettuce wraps.
25:43Yeah.
25:45So, the sauce, that special sauce that makes it taste so good.
25:47Yeah, it's a good sauce.
25:49I love that sauce.
25:50Since you are the lettuce wrap master, what can you tell me about this sauce?
25:55My mother would kill me if I give out the recipe.
25:57Does she live here in Scottsdale?
25:59She's in San Francisco.
26:00Oh, so I couldn't meet her here.
26:02No, no.
26:03Retired in San Francisco and 94 years old.
26:07Right.
26:08You know, she keeps up with everything.
26:14This is a little awkward.
26:15Do you mind if I borrow your phone for a second?
26:17Yeah, I have to call my wife.
26:18Mine died.
26:20Thanks.
26:21There you go.
26:23Hi, honey.
26:24We were just talking with Phillip Chang, who created the dish.
26:30I'll call you when we're done, okay?
26:31Yeah.
26:32Alright, love you.
26:33Bye.
26:34Phillip, thanks for letting me use your phone.
26:35Oh, you're welcome.
26:37I'm paying tribute to this sauce, to these lettuce wraps, to this recipe, and I love
26:41these lettuce wraps.
26:42Uh-huh.
26:43Is there anything else you can tell me about this sauce?
26:47I'm using oyster sauce.
26:49We use a particular brand that is famous in Hong Kong.
26:52This is the company that actually sort of created this sauce.
26:56You know, the grandparents of this sauce.
26:58You're not going to give me the name?
27:02I'll give you the initials of this company.
27:05LKK.
27:06LKK.
27:07Yeah.
27:08Alright.
27:09LKK.
27:10Start with that.
27:11I really appreciate you meeting with me and giving me this.
27:13You're welcome.
27:14Appreciate it.
27:15Good luck.
27:16I'm going to go and work on this recipe.
27:17Gotcha.
27:19Alright.
27:20LKK.
27:21Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce.
27:24With a few hours before the final taste test, I've got no room for error.
27:28I've made a few changes here on the board, based on some information that Phillip Chang
27:32gave me.
27:33Hopefully, this is the missing ingredient.
27:35Let's do some cooking.
27:37Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce.
27:39Add some oil in here.
27:41Let that heat up.
27:42Okay.
27:43Here we go.
27:44Alright.
27:45Chicken.
27:46We see no more pink in the chicken.
27:48Mushrooms and water chestnuts and heat.
27:51Looking good.
27:53Sauce.
27:54I'm going to add some green onion and then pull it off.
27:57Plate it.
27:58Mine.
27:59Theirs.
28:01Let's see what we got here.
28:04Sweet.
28:05Salty.
28:06Good balance.
28:07Smokiness.
28:08Now this one.
28:11A little bit of a difference, yeah.
28:13It's still missing something.
28:15Phillip obviously didn't divulge all the secrets about his sauce.
28:19This is his family recipe.
28:21The man goes way back.
28:23His mom, Cecilia.
28:25Luckily, I was thinking on my feet back at the restaurant.
28:28When I borrowed his phone, I was able to get Mama Chang's number.
28:31The true creator of the chicken lettuce wraps.
28:34Hello?
28:35Hi, is this Cecilia Chang?
28:38Don't walk away from that TV.
28:40Top Secret Recipe.
28:46It's the final day of the taste test.
28:48And I've got a few hours before my wraps go head to head with P.F. Chang's.
28:52My last hope is to get some clues from the recipe master herself, Mama Chang.
28:59Hello?
29:00Hi, is this Cecilia Chang?
29:02My name's Todd Wilber.
29:04I'm a food hacker.
29:06I love recipe secrets and cloning recipes.
29:10And your lettuce wraps are one of my favorites.
29:13Okay, bye bye.
29:14Wait, what?
29:15Wait, don't go.
29:16Can you just give me one ingredient?
29:18Please.
29:19In the lettuce wraps.
29:30Hello?
29:31Cecilia?
29:32Wait a second.
29:33Mama Chang?
29:35Hello?
29:36Are you speaking Chinese?
29:39Are you speaking Chinese?
29:40Cecilia, can you...
29:43I'm sorry.
29:44I'm sorry.
29:45I don't understand what you're saying.
29:47Hello?
29:48Hello?
29:49Hmm, this is getting tricky.
29:51But I think I might have an idea.
29:52Okay, so calling my friend Lorraine, who speaks Mandarin.
29:56Hopefully I'll be able to talk to her.
29:58Hi, Todd.
29:59How you doing, Lorraine?
30:00I'm good, how are you?
30:01Good.
30:02I'm going to call somebody here on my phone.
30:05And hopefully you can hear them.
30:07And you can tell me what they're saying.
30:09Sure.
30:10Anything for you.
30:11Okay, great.
30:12It's going to be Cecilia Chang, who created the lettuce wraps for P.F. Chang.
30:16Do you know those?
30:17I love it.
30:18Okay, great.
30:19Great.
30:20I'll put it on speakerphone.
30:21I hope you can hear this.
30:22Hello?
30:23Hi, Cecilia.
30:24It's Todd again.
30:31I can't do it.
30:32Tell her I want to talk to her about lettuce wraps.
30:38What's inside the leaf?
30:42What's inside the leaf?
30:45Okay, what is she telling you back?
30:47What does that mean?
30:50I can't hear her.
30:51You can't hear her?
30:52Okay, this is not working, Lorraine, I'm sorry, okay, I'm gonna hang up on you, Cecilia, I'm
31:18sorry, I have to hang up on you, we have a bit of a language barrier here, you can speak English?
31:29Then why are we speaking Mandarin? So Mama Chang was totally messing with me, she was afraid I was
31:44just trying to rip off her recipe, time for a more sincere approach. Listen, Cecilia, I'm cloning this
31:51recipe because I love it, I'm paying tribute to it, I'm not a competing restaurant, I just really love
31:58these lettuce wraps, can you please just give me one secret ingredient, one ingredient in the sauce,
32:04can you give me just one? Okay, that's fine. Alright, so here's what I'm using, black mushroom soy sauce,
32:11hoisin sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, cornstarch, water, what am I missing? Mama Chang?
32:20What was that? What was that? Wine? What's it called? Shaoxing wine? Okay. That's it, that must have been the stuff
32:38they were using back at R&D, Shaoxing cooking wine. Well, man, thank you, I wish I would have got that from you sooner.
32:45You're welcome, bye bye. Right here, Shaoxing cooking wine. I don't have a lot of time, so hopefully this is the
32:55missing piece of the puzzle. Mama Chang, don't fail me now. One tablespoon of rice wine, add some of this oil
33:02into the wok, let's do some cooking. Let's keep it heating up, hotter, I'm really hot. Okay, we're in the middle of
33:09Arizona, I'm taking this off. Okay, let's pour this off, keep a little oil in, I think I gotta turn it down.
33:16Let's hit it with the chicken. Whoa, oh man, great, we have a fire. No, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
33:26Alright, that sucked. So that was scary, but luckily everyone's okay, it's my wok I'm worried about.
33:33Hopefully this doesn't change the taste of my wrap. I will burn down this food truck eventually.
33:40Okay, let's try this again. Okay, let's bring it down a little this time.
33:44Alright, Todd, I'm eating on my wok, you're in big trouble here, bud.
33:51Garlic.
33:56Man, I'm not even going to get to taste this final batch. I hope Mama Chang steered me right.
34:02This is it, I feel good, man, this is as good as I can do.
34:15Hey guys, how you guys doing? Welcome back. Rick, how are you? How you doing? The wok makes the truck
34:21very hot, I have no AC, it's brutal, but I'm here and I'm ready to go. How'd it turn out? We'll soon
34:26find out, won't we? Yeah, if I remember the bet correctly, if you only got one, we were going to
34:33give you 10,000 lettuce wraps for your fans, right? If you got two, you got a P.F. Chang's Lucky Cat
34:42Dining Club card for life. Right, yeah. You guys ready to do this? Let me introduce you to our super fans.
34:50First is Scott. My name is Scott, I'm a local resident of Scottsdale. I'm a huge fan of P.F.
34:54Chang's, been eating it for about 10 years, and my favorite food is the lettuce wraps. I'm ready to go.
34:58Really? Okay. Caroline? Hi, I'm Caroline. I started eating P.F. Chang's in its inaugural restaurant back in 1993.
35:05Yep, order lettuce wraps every single time. I got this one, I've been eating them for almost 18 years,
35:11a long time, so love it. And there's Eric. I've been eating P.F. Chang's for over a decade, I love
35:16their food, I eat whenever I can. Okay, so we have some real lettuce wrap aficionados. Here's
35:22how this is going to work. We're going to bring you each two lettuce wraps. One's mine, one's P.F.
35:27Chang's. We're going to ask you if you can tell the difference, and if you know which one is P.F.
35:31Chang's, you push that one forward. But if you can't tell the difference, don't be forced to
35:36make a decision. Just say, I can't tell, it's a good clone. That's one for me. That's one for you.
35:41That's one for me. All right guys, are you getting hungry? Yeah. Here it is, the moment of truth. Let's bring in the lettuce wraps.
35:52Hmm.
35:57Sure do look good. Can you guys tell which is which? No. Not yet. This is tough to have it just
36:02sitting there and you can't eat it, right? Okay, let's do it. You all know there's a small wager
36:08on this. No pressure, just a small wager. Take your time.
36:15This is gonna be tough. What was that? I heard this is gonna be tough. Really? Eric, what do you think here?
36:20It's tough right now. I mean, they both taste, they both have the same kind of tender, tenderness,
36:24and spices are kind of what I'm trying to tell the difference between right now. Yeah.
36:28Caroline, how about you? They're both so good. Um, hard to tell. Hard to tell? I'm not there yet.
36:35Okay, keep going. And Scott, what are you, uh, tasting here? Nice crispness of the lettuce.
36:43Inside flavor is nice. Yeah. The soy flavor just jumps out at you. So, can you tell the difference?
36:51Honestly, I think they're both very good, very strong tasting. Flavor is great. I don't know
36:57if I can differentiate between the two. Okay, do we have a good clone?
37:05Darn good clone. Yes, sounds like a good clone. Okay, that's one. Eric,
37:13did I make a good clone or can you tell the difference? You did make a good clone.
37:17Um, I want to guess though.
37:26Can we cut this part out? Okay. I'll say this one's the original. That one's the original? I'm
37:32gonna guess. Oh, this is fun. Since you made a choice, lift up the plate and let's see what you
37:36picked. Yes, I made a good clone. We just, we just went back. Let's see. Hundreds have tried,
37:56nobody's duplicated this yet. Oh, wow. Come on baby, one more. Three out of three judges would
38:02be the ultimate victory. Caroline, can you tell the difference?
38:10The flavor is exactly the same, so I have no idea. You have no idea? I have no idea. Do I have a clone?
38:16Yes.
38:34We didn't put anything on three for three. No, so we'll give you both. That's great.
38:40Thank you. Your official Lucky Cat Dining Club. Lucky Cat Dining Club. You guys were amazing.
38:51This was really fun to work on. Thank you. Great work. We're hiring wok cooks. You're hiring wok
38:57cooks. You don't want me then. Yeah. I got all three. This has never happened before. Thank you,
39:03PF Chang's. Thanks for the lucky cat card. Thank you for watching. Oh, this is great.
39:09Go to topsecretrecipe.cmt.com for your chance to win PF Chang's lettuce wraps.
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