Quick Chinese Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
After each late-night overtime session, I love to make this Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce, which can be ready in just 5 minutes, to soothe my stomach and heart. The lettuce is as crisp and tender as spring, and the sweet flavor is wrapped in the garlicky oyster sauce. It's low in calories and delicious.
Why I Recommend Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
Low-calorie and healthy: Lettuce has extremely low calories. Paired with a lightly seasoned sauce, it's suitable for those who are trying to lose weight or prefer a light diet.
Simple and quick: It can be made in 10 minutes, and even kitchen beginners can handle it easily.
A Chinese classic: The combination of oyster sauce and garlic flavor highlights the sweet and fresh taste of Cantonese cuisine.
Seasonal in spring: Lettuce is crispy and tender in spring. It's rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, helping with digestion and relieving spring dryness.
Versatile dish: It's suitable as a side dish or a main course and can be paired with rice, noodles, meat, etc.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Iceberg Lettuce: Tender in texture and rich in moisture. After blanching, it absorbs the flavor of the oyster sauce more easily.
Substitutes: Celtuce Leaves, Spinach, Baby Napa Cabbage.
Oyster Sauce: Enhances the umami flavor and adds depth, bringing a slightly sweet and savory taste. It's the key seasoning for this dish.
Substitutes: Vegetarian Oyster Sauce or abalone sauce.
Garlic: Adds a garlicky aroma, making the overall taste more intense.
Light Soy Sauce: Adds a basic flavor and saltiness, complementing the oyster sauce for seasoning.
Cornstarch: Used for thickening to make the oyster sauce thicker and better able to coat the lettuce.
Substitutes: Potato Starch or Tapioca Starch.
Salt and cooking oil: Used for blanching to enhance the basic flavor and texture of the lettuce.
Chinese Customs of Eating Lettuce
In Chinese dietary culture, the word "lettuce" is homophonic with the phrase "attaining wealth", which has given rise to many interesting customs.
In southern regions such as Guangdong, lettuce often appears on the dinner table during the Spring Festival. People believe that eating lettuce during the New Year can bring good fortune for "attaining wealth", symbolizing an influx of wealth in the new year.
Many merchants also prepare lettuce for the opening of new stores and celebration events. In some areas, lettuce is tied together with scallions, garlic, etc., symbolizing "attaining wealth while being smart and thrifty".
Lettuce is also a frequent guest at some important banquets. A dish of oyster sauce lettuce or lettuce-wrapped rice is not only delicious but also filled with everyone's expectations for wealth and good luck.
Which Type of Lettuce to Use
In China, it's common to use iceberg lettuce for this dish.
Sometimes I also use romaine lettuce because it has a brighter color and a nice taste.
Of course, you can use any type of lettuce for cooking.
Why Do Chinese People Like to Use Oyster Sauce in Cooking?
Rich in umami: Oyster sauce is made by boiling oysters and has a natural "sweet and fresh" taste. It can quickly enhance the flavor of dishes and is a healthier alternative to MSG.
Versatile seasoning: It can be used for stir-frying, mixing vegetables, and marinating meat. One spoonful can achieve saltiness, umami, and sweetness, making it a great seasoning for lazy people.
Influence of Cantonese cuisine culture: It was first popularized in Cantonese cuisine and gradually became a "representative of umami" in home cooking, especially suitable for enhancing the freshness of vegetables and meat.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·1 head of iceberg lettuce (about 1 lb)
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·3-4 cloves garlic ( minced)
Seasonings
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·1 tbsp oyster sauce
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·1 tbsp light soy sauce
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·1/2 tsp cornstarch
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·A pinch of salt
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·1/2 tbsp cooking oil
Table of Contents
- ·Why I Recommend Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
- ·Ingredients and Substitutes
- ·Chinese Customs of Eating Lettuce
- ·Which Type of Lettuce to Use
- ·Why Do Chinese People Like to Use Oyster Sauce in Cooking?
- ·Ingredients
- ·Cooking step
- ·More Vegetable Recipe Recommendations
- ·Recipe Tips
- ·Serving Suggestions
- ·Recipe Variations
- ·FAQs
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Prepare the lettuce:
Pick the iceberg lettuce leaves one by one, wash them, drain the water, and set them aside.
Mince the garlic and set it aside.
Step 2
Make a sauce:
Take a small bowl and pour in 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp cornstarch. Add half a bowl of water and stir well until smooth.
Step 3
Blanch the lettuce:
Bring an appropriate amount of water to a boil in a pot. After the water boils, add a little salt and cooking oil. Put the lettuce in and blanch it quickly for 20 seconds. As soon as the lettuce softens and changes color, immediately remove it and place it on a plate to arrange.
Step 4
Stir-fry the garlic sauce:
Pour a little oil into the pot, add the minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. After smelling the garlic aroma, pour in the prepared oyster sauce. Heat it over low heat and stir while heating until the sauce thickens slightly.
Step 5
Drizzle the sauce:
Evenly drizzle the cooked oyster garlic sauce over the arranged lettuce on the plate.
Step 6
Enjoy:
A delicious Iceberg Lettuce with Oyster Sauce is ready. It's low in calories and refreshing.
More Vegetable Recipe Recommendations
Easy Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry
Stir-Fried Garlic Chinese Lettuce
Cantonese-style Blanched Choy Sum
Recipe Tips
1.Adding salt and oil when blanching the lettuce can keep it green.
2.Don't blanch the lettuce for too long, otherwise, it will lose its crisp and tender texture.
3.Don't add too much starch when making the oyster sauce, or the sauce will be too thick.
4.Finely mincing the garlic makes it easier to release the aroma. Put it in the pot when the oil is at 50% heat (about 150°C) to avoid burning and becoming bitter.
5.When cooking the sauce, use low heat and let the sauce simmer for one minute. Keep stirring to prevent the cornstarch from clumping. If the sauce isn't cooked thoroughly, the oyster sauce may have an unpleasant raw taste.
Serving Suggestions
Paired with rice: A classic combination with rice. A bowl of rice and a plate of lettuce make a refreshing and anti-greasy meal.
Paired with noodles: As a side dish with clear noodle soup to enhance the texture.
Paired with meat: It can be used as an anti-greasy side dish for meat dishes, such as braised pork or roasted chicken.
Healthy light meal: Suitable as a low-calorie meal, paired with protein-rich foods like chicken breast and tofu.
For entertaining and plating: Stack the lettuce leaves into a flower shape. After drizzling the sauce, sprinkle with white sesame seeds for decoration.
Recipe Variations
Spicy version: Add red peppers or chili oil when stir-frying the garlic, suitable for those who love spicy food.
Seafood upgrade: Put blanched shrimps or scallop meat on the lettuce before drizzling the sauce.
Mushroom flavor: Add sautéed diced mushrooms to the sauce to enhance the umami flavor.
Parmesan cheese flavor: Replace the oyster sauce with shredded Parmesan cheese to make Garlic Parmesan Lettuce.
Garlic-only lettuce: Omit the oyster sauce and only use minced garlic, salt, and light soy sauce for a lighter taste.
Vegetarian version: Replace the oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce or mushroom sauce to maintain the fresh flavor.
Stir-fried lettuce: After blanching, stir-fry the lettuce instead and add a little minced meat to enhance the texture.
Cold dressed lettuce: After blanching, season with light soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, and chili oil to make a cold dish.
FAQs:
Make sure the water is boiling completely before putting the lettuce in. Blanching for 15 - 20 seconds is usually enough. At the same time, adding a little salt and cooking oil to the water can help keep the lettuce green.
If it has already turned yellow, you can mix in a small amount of lemon juice (1/4 teaspoon) to restore some of the luster.
Although the oyster sauce can be omitted, the flavor will be greatly reduced.
If you don't have oyster sauce, you can try mixing light soy sauce and some mushroom sauce to imitate the umami of oyster sauce.
The oyster sauce for this dish is very versatile. Besides lettuce, other green vegetables such as spinach, romaine lettuce, or root vegetables like okra, loofah, and broccoli can be used to replace lettuce.
The blanching or stir-frying time for different vegetables is different, so you need to adjust the blanching time according to the thickness of the vegetables.
Store the prepared oyster sauce in a sealed container. Refrigeration can keep it for some time. When using, just reheat and stir to restore its thickness.
If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water to adjust.
When making the oyster sauce, make sure to stir the starch and water well before heating to avoid starch precipitation.
If the sauce is too thin, you can continue heating to let the sauce naturally thicken, or add a little more starch water to adjust the thickness.
The lettuce leaves are thin. When stir-frying, they may become too soft and difficult to absorb the flavor of the oyster sauce, and they may lose their crispy texture.
If you don't want to blanch, you can change to quick stir-frying, but control the amount of water added to avoid over-wetting the dish.
Rinsing with cold water will lower the temperature of the lettuce and affect its absorption of the oyster sauce flavor later. Just remove it directly and plate it.
If there are leftovers, seal them well with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator. It can be stored for 1 - 2 days, but when eaten again, the texture of the lettuce will deteriorate and some nutrients will be lost.
