Lettuce in oyster sauce

Name: Lettuce in oyster sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cantonese
Ingredients: Iceberg lettuce 1 head, about 500 g; Salt 1 tsp; Cooking oil 2 tbsp; Garlic 2 cloves; Oyster sauce 2 tbsp; Light soy sauce 1 tsp; Sugar ½ tsp; Sesame oil a few drops; Cornflour 1 tsp

蠔油生菜

Blanched and poachedVegetablesWeeknightKids like itOne pot, one mealEasyhands-on 10 min · start to finish 15 min

“Blanched, a pour of soy. Clean and simple.”

Ingredientsserves 4

街市Iceberg lettuce· outer leaves off, torn into large pieces or cut in wide wedges1 head, about 500 g

雜貨舖Salt· for the water1 tsp

雜貨舖Cooking oil· one for the water, one for the garlic2 tbsp

街市Garlic· chopped2 cloves

雜貨舖Oyster sauce2 tbsp

雜貨舖Light soy sauce1 tsp

雜貨舖Sugar½ tsp

雜貨舖Sesame oila few drops

雜貨舖Cornflour· mixed with water, only if you want the sauce to cling1 tsp

Method

Strip the outer leaves from the iceberg, tear it into large pieces or cut it in wide wedges, and rinse each piece; grit hides at the base of the leaves.
Bring two litres of water to a rolling boil with a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil.
Put the lettuce in and count thirty to forty-five seconds, lifting it out as soon as the edges wilt; iceberg only needs to soften at the edge, and any longer it goes limp.
Lift out, drain hard, tip the plate to pour off the water, and arrange the lettuce.
Stir the oyster sauce, light soy, sugar and three tablespoons of water together. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok, fry the garlic for twenty seconds over medium heat, pour in the sauce and bring it to the boil.
If you want the sauce to cling, stir in a teaspoon of the starch water to thicken; add a few drops of sesame oil and pour over the lettuce. Serve at once.

Take care

Oyster sauce contains oyster (a mollusc), soy and wheat; the soy sauce contains soy and wheat; sesame oil contains sesame. Use a vegetarian oyster sauce for a mollusc allergy.

The story

This is the vegetable a Hong Kong family cooks when there is nothing green in the fridge but a head of iceberg, and its sauce, oyster sauce, was first made in Guangdong; lettuce is its simplest carrier. Restaurants use Chinese lettuce and a glossy thickened sauce; the home version is thirty seconds of boiling water and a spoon of sauce.

Same technique

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.