Lettuce is a common vegetable in China. We can eat lettuce raw or cooked. Adding lettuce to burgers or sandwiches, or wrapping grilled meat in lettuce leaves to eat are common practice in China. We also use lettuce for hot pot. Today we will make a lettuce with a unique taste, Lettuce with Oyster Sauce. Just like its name, we need to use oyster sauce and lettuce. This recipe is so simple that you can make it in very little time.
This dish makes a great side with your main course, and is easy to prepare in minutes. For a darker sauce, you can add a small amount of dark soy sauce, but be sure to do this before adding salt. Test the flavor before adding salt.
Two ways to prepare lettuce in oyster sauce
Note how the sauce coats the lettuce evenly. This is the goal when adding starch water. This glazing technique is called DăQiàn (打芡). The starch water thickens the liquid, so that it clings to the vegetables. Too much starch will make the sauce thick, with a mucus-like texture. So, add starch water slowly, a little at a time, and stir quickly. Watch the consistency of the sauce thicken before adding more starch water.
Lettuce in Oyster Sauce
Equipment
- 1 wok (or saucepan)
Ingredients
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 20 g mild red pepper
- ½ tsp salt 3 ml
- 3 tsp oyster sauce 15 ml
- 1 tsp light soy sauce 5 ml
- 3 tsp cooking oil 15 ml (divided)
- 3.5 oz water 100 ml
- starch water 1:1 corn starch and water, mixed thoroughly
- ½ to 1 tsp dark soy sauce (3-5 ml, optional for darker sauce)
Instructions
- Tear the leaves of the lettuce and wash them clean.2 heads romaine lettuce
- Chop the peppers.20 g mild red pepper
- Add water to a pot, bring to a boil and blanch the lettuce for 1 minute.
- Then drain the lettuce and set aside on a plate.
- Add 10 ml (2 tsp) cooking oil to the wok or saucepan, then add 100 ml water (3.5 oz), oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Test the flavor before adding salt. Stir to combine.½ tsp salt, 3 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 3 tsp cooking oil, 3.5 oz water, ½ to 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- Next, add the chili peppers. Bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly add starch water, a little at a time, to thicken. Stir quickly to thicken the sauce. Do not thicken too much, or it will become like a thick mucus instead of a sauce. Finally, add the remaining 5 ml (1 tsp) of oil and stir well.20 g mild red pepper, starch water
- Pour the sauce over the lettuce and finish.
Notes
Nutrition
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