Restaurant secret menus have become all the rage recently. Fast food restaurants like McDonald's, Arby's, Starbucks and Chipotle have very well-known, and not so secret menus. P.F. Chang's, the popular Asian-American chain restaurant, is no stranger to the secret menu. While they are most well known for their fusion specialties like kung pao chicken, dim sum, dynamite shrimp, and BBQ spare ribs, there are some secrets to be found. Former employees and customers admit that P.F. Chang's Secret Menu exists, though it is smaller than other places.
Most of their secret menu items are actually location specific specialties or tweaks to certain entrees or appetizers. P.F. Chang's menu is extensive, and dishes vary by location. Most servers are happy to work with you to create your own secret menu dishes out of dishes like their miso soup, sesame chicken, shrimp dumplings, honey chicken, vegetable spring rolls, wontons, and other stir-fried delights. Skip the takeout and see our best secret menu tips, tricks, and hacks.
P.F. Chang's Hacks
While their popular chili sauce is not technically a P.F. Chang's secret menu item, many chili pepper lovers want to know the secret recipe. ThreeCookingSisters has created a copycat special sauce that you can make at home.
P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce wraps are a healthy, Chinese inspired dish that are one of the most popular items on the menu. They're like tacos, but better! One "secret" is how easy they are to make at home. For the dipping sauce, you'll need sugar, soy sauce, chili oil, rice wine vinegar, and Sriracha. You'll also need chicken, oyster sauce, water chestnuts, green onion and lettuce. Since you're customizing this dish at home, you can switch up ingredients. You can swap the chicken for filet, or make it vegan with bell pepper and extra veggies. If you can't handle the heat, swap the Sriracha for sweet chili sauce.
Get the full recipe at Dinner then Dessert.
P.F. Chang's is very sensitive to customers who have special dietary accommodations. It's more of a tip than a secret, but they have an entire gluten free menu. You definitely won't miss out with specialties like chicken pad thai, Chang's spicy chicken, and street noodles with julienned veggies. If you're vegetarian, P.F. Chang's labels those items on the menu. Their eggplant fried rice, spicy green beans, brown rice, and spring rolls are some standouts.
P.F. Chang's Secret Menu Items
Mongolian Beef With Chicken
One of the most popular hacks is with the Mongolian beef. Instead of flank steak, you can ask for chicken. The servers will be happy to do this for you.
Apple Tort
P.F. Chang's is not just known for their delicious savory meals. Their signature desserts like banana spring rolls, cheesecake, and assorted ice creams are a perfect way to end the meal. If none of those sounds appealing, there is one secret dessert you won't find listed. The P.F. Chang's Secret Menu dessert item you must try is the apple tort. Think of it as a distant cousin to an apple pie.
Any Special Ever
One of the most exciting things about the P.F. Chang's secret menu is the fact that you can order any special you've ever had! According to a P.F. Chang's employee, servers can choose between "standard menu" and "special menu" when putting an order into the computer. As long as the dish is made with ingredients that that chain has in stock, the chef can prepare it.
So, if P.F. Chang's had a special menu item in the past that you absolutely loved, and you're sad that they haven't brought it back, not to worry. You can order it from the server and enjoy it as a secret menu item. This also goes for discontinued menu items that the chain served in the past. They may have taken it off the normal menu because it wasn't being ordered enough or wasn't a cost-effective dish, but as long as the ingredients are there, you can still enjoy it just like old times.
Since you're already thinking outside the box, feel free to modify these specials any way you like. If the special you loved was a tasty noodle dish with sautéed veggies and chicken, feel free to ask for beef instead, or for a different selection of veggies than the original.
The next time you're enjoy your crispy egg rolls, think about switching it up and trying something off the P.F. Chang's Secret Menu. Your taste buds will thank you.
This post was originally published on July 6, 2021.
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