Grace Young's Stir-Fried Iceberg Lettuce
Author Notes: A near-instant springy green vegetable before the springy greens. (And, yes, you can cook lettuce -- here's why you should.) Note: You can use this technique on many other vegetables in season, including romaine lettuce, spinach, watercress, baby bok choy, asparagus (fat spears sliced 1/4-inch thick on the bias; pencil spears in 2-inch lengths), snow peas and snap peas. Adapted slightly from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen (Simon & Schuster, 1999) and Saveur Magazine —Genius Recipes
Serves: 4
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1
teaspoon soy sauce
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1
teaspoon sesame oil
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1
teaspoon rice wine or dry sherry
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3/4
teaspoon sugar
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1/2
teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
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1 1/2
tablespoons peanut oil or other neutral oil
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4
scallions, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
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3
cloves garlic, thinly sliced or smashed
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1/2
medium head iceberg lettuce, cored, outermost leaves discarded, inner leaves torn into 4-inch wide pieces (or substitute 12 ounces of other greens -- see headnote)
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Kosher salt, to taste
- In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine or sherry, sugar, and pepper; set sauce aside.
- Heat a wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add peanut oil, half of the scallions (including all of the white and light green pieces), and garlic and cook until garlic is golden, about 5 seconds. Add lettuce and stir-fry until lettuce softens slightly, about 1 minute. Drizzle in sauce and cook until lettuce is just coated with the sauce, about 1 minute. Season with salt, divide between 4 bowls while lettuce is just tender and still bright green, and garnish with remaining scallions.
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My mother made this all the time when I was little - it was homestyle cooking at its best. Thanks for reminding me of this dish!
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I also added bok choy to the lettuce. What a fabulous recipe--I served it with foxeslovelemons' Spicy Orange-Ginger Chicken.
Gotta try this tonight. And, of course, there is nothing better than grilled romaine! Lettuce really can be a marvel!
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Made this last night. What a revelation! I had to hunt a bit for iceberg lettuce, as it doesn't seem to be in demand at the places I typically shop for produce. I added a dozen teeny tiny bok choy, sliced lengthwise. Served with the Genius fish (recipe posted last week), over my not-recipe quinoa, plus some roast carrots -- put in the oven to roast when I turned it on to heat it for the fish. Active time, all told, for the entire dinner: about 15 minutes, if that much. A keeper! ;o)
I just made this as written tonight for dinner and it was delicious! Excellent flavor!
Love it! I omitted the sesame and peanut oils and replaced with just a tablespoon of grape seed oil. I know sesame would add great flavor, but I am cutting calories. Still awesome.
Yummy! I was introduced to stir-fried lettuce when I lived with Chinese housemates, and it is delicious. Sometimes they also added fried eggs and chopped tomatoes to the lettuce (don't know the name of that dish, though).
yum! i love stir-fried lettuce! i also make a version with fermented tofu and shaoxing wine.
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