Blanched lettuce with oyster sauce
Lettuce can be cooked. A very brief dip in hot water softens the leaves without making them collapse, ready for a garlicky oyster-sauce topping.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Makes
- Serves 4 as a side
Your new skill: Blanching delicate leaves without overcooking them
For a little background, read Can a menu word tell you how food was cooked?.
Your ingredients
Get ready: Kitchen scales, chopping board, mixing bowls, measuring spoons and a suitable saucepan or frying pan.
- 450 g little gem or romaine lettuce
- 1½ tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- ½ tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp sugar
- 45 ml water
- ½ tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
Let’s make it
-
Wash and mix
Separate and wash the lettuce leaves. Tear very large leaves into manageable pieces. Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornflour, sugar and measured water.
-
Give the leaves a quick bath
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then switch off the heat. Submerge the lettuce for 10–20 seconds. Drain thoroughly and arrange on a serving dish.
-
Sizzle the garlic
Warm the oil in a small frying pan and cook garlic until just pale gold. Lower the heat, stir in the sauce and let it bubble briefly until glossy. Pour over the drained lettuce and serve straight away. Yes, cooked lettuce really works.
What to try next
Try Char siu chicken or Cantonese clay-pot rice for your next kitchen project.
Keeping it: Cool leftovers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Eat within 48 hours, reheating only once until steaming hot throughout.
