Stir-Fried Celtuce Stem
Want to make a light and delicious vegetarian dish? Stir-fried lettuce is definitely an ideal choice. The crisp and tender texture and fresh taste make this dish an appetizing side dish on the table.
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
Main ingredients
Lettuce: Provides a refreshing texture and unique flavor and is the main ingredient of the dish.
Accessories
Garlic cloves: Release garlic fragrance after stir-frying, adding a layer of fragrance to the lettuce.
Seasonings
Salt: Controls the saltiness to make the lettuce taste appropriate and highlight its original flavor.
Starch water: Used for thickening to make the soup thick and cover the lettuce to add more luster.
Sesame oil: Adds a unique aroma and enhances the overall flavor of the dish.
Oil: Facilitates stir-frying garlic slices and stir-frying lettuce to ensure even heating.
Substitutions
Lettuce: Can be replaced by wild rice stem. It has a crisp and tender texture and can also make refreshing dishes.
Garlic cloves: If not available, garlic powder can be used instead. It can also emit garlic fragrance but has a different texture.
Salt: Low-sodium salt can be selected. It has similar functions and can also reduce sodium intake.
Starch water: Lotus root starch can be used instead. It can also have a certain thickening effect with a little adjustment.
Sesame oil: Sesame oil can be replaced. Both have a strong aroma and help enhance the flavor.
Choose thick or thin ones
Selecting lettuce with a medium thickness of 3 - 4 centimeters in diameter is the best. If it is too thick, the fibers are thick and the texture is old and tough. It is difficult for salt to penetrate in, and it tastes bland. If it is too thin, it has plenty of water. After stir-frying a few times, it becomes soft and mushy, losing that crisp and tender taste.
The skin should be smooth and shiny, and the color is bluish-white or light green. Pinch it with your hand. Only those that are tight and tough are fresh. When breaking it, there should be a crisp sound. When cut open, the cross-section should be moist without yellow or brown.
There are also different parts. Give priority to the middle section. The bottom is relatively old and the top has a lot of water. Only the middle section has a balanced taste and nutrition. If the lettuce is long, separate the old and tender parts for cooking to ensure that each piece is stir-fried just right.
How to cut vegetables
First, wash and dry the lettuce, and take out a sharp knife. After peeling, place the lettuce longitudinally. Hold the knife at a 45-degree angle to cut it into thin slices, and then further cut it into long strips of 5 - 8 centimeters. The width is controlled at 0.5 - 1 centimeter. The inclined cutting operation can increase the heating and flavor-absorbing area. When cutting, apply even force to ensure consistent size. Remove the old tendons when encountered. The stir-fried lettuce has a crisp taste.
Cooking tips
Heat control: At the beginning, stir-fry quickly over medium-high heat to make the lettuce change color quickly and maintain its crispness. When the surface of the lettuce is slightly softened, turn to medium-low heat and continue stir-frying. This way, it can be fully flavored without being overcooked.
Order of adding ingredients: Be sure to stir-fry the garlic slices first. After the garlic fragrance is stimulated, then add the lettuce. The garlic fragrance is integrated into the lettuce to enhance the flavor of the dish and add a rich aroma.
Stir-frying skills: When stir-frying, keep stirring continuously. From the moment the lettuce is put into the pan, the spatula should keep turning continuously so that each piece of lettuce can fully contact and be heated by the pan. It can also make the salt and seasonings penetrate quickly and evenly to ensure that the whole dish has a consistent taste.
Seasoning skills: Adding salt first and then stir-frying is to make the lettuce fully absorb the saltiness. However, note that the lettuce itself will release water, so the amount of salt should be moderate. Finally, drizzling sesame oil can not only enhance the fragrance but also make the surface of the dish more shiny.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
-
·1 piece lettuce
Accessories
-
·15g garlic cloves
Seasonings
-
·5g salt
-
·10ml starch water
-
·5ml sesame oil
-
·20ml oil
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Wash the lettuce carefully. After peeling off the outer skin, cut it into uniform long strips of 5 to 8 centimeters in length and 0.5 to 1 centimeter in width. Wash the garlic cloves and cut them into thin slices of 2 to 3 millimeters in thickness. Then set them aside for later use.
Step 2
Pour 20 milliliters of oil into the pot and heat it over medium heat. When the oil is slightly smoky and heated, put in the garlic slices and quickly stir-fry with a spatula for about 30 seconds until the garlic fragrance is emitted.
Step 3
Then pour in the lettuce strips and continuously stir-fry with a spatula for 2 to 3 minutes to ensure that the lettuce is evenly heated in the pot and start the initial ripening process.
Step 4
Add 5 grams of salt and then continue to stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes to make the lettuce fully absorb the salt and be cooked until it has a crisp taste.
Step 5
Pour in 10 milliliters of starch water and quickly stir evenly to make the soup thicken and let the lettuce be evenly coated with a thin thickening to add luster and flavor to the dish.
Step 6
Drip in 5 milliliters of sesame oil and then simply stir-fry with a spatula a few more times to make the fragrance of sesame oil blend into the dish. After that, it can be taken out of the pot and plated. Thus, the production of stir-fried lettuce is completed.
More recipes worth trying
Captivating Stir-fry: Eggplant String Bean Stir-fry
Sour & Spicy Baby Chinese Cabbage Recipe
Recipe Variations
Meat and vegetable combination: If you want to make stir-fried lettuce more attractive, add an appropriate amount of shrimp and meat slices! First, stir-fry the shrimp and meat slices until they change color and are fully cooked, then set aside; then stir-fry the lettuce as usual, and add the shrimp and meat slices before serving. The fragrance of meat and shrimp permeates the lettuce, achieving a double harvest of nutrition and deliciousness.
Mushroom alliance: Add some shiitake mushrooms and white jade mushrooms, and the “mushroom flavor” of lettuce is instantly upgraded. Wash and cut the mushrooms and blanch them first to remove the fishy smell. After stir-frying the lettuce for a while, pour in the mushrooms and stir-fry together. The aromas of the two intermingle, and the texture levels soar directly.
Cold salad or hot pot: Cut into shreds and blanch, add vinegar, minced garlic, and chili oil for cold salad, refreshing and not greasy; cut into slices and put them in the hot pot for boiling, dip in the dipping sauce and it’s hot and enjoyable; when making soup, add ribs and seafood, and the sweet taste is super healing.
Outstanding seasoning: Break through the limitations of salt and sesame oil. Sprinkle some chicken essence to enhance the freshness, drizzle a few drops of steamed fish soy sauce to add soy sauce fragrance. Sprinkle chopped green onions and minced coriander after serving, and the appearance and aroma are all under control.
Serving Suggestions
Staple food pairing: Stir-fried lettuce is best paired with rice for a refreshing and non-greasy taste. It can also be combined with other meat dishes like braised pork or stewed chicken to balance the taste of the whole meal. If eaten alone, it is recommended to pair it with some salty and umami sauces or dipping sauces to add flavor.
Side dish combination: As a table side dish, it is most suitable to be placed next to braised meat dishes. Lettuce can resolve the greasiness of meat, and braised dishes can complement the lack of mellow flavor of lettuce, making the nutritional combination more balanced.
Temperature consideration: Lettuce is best eaten hot right after it is cooked. At this time, it is crisp and tender with a fragrant aroma. If not finished in one meal, slightly heat it up before eating it next time. Heating it in the microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute can restore the flavor just out of the pot to the greatest extent, and the lettuce will still be crisp.
FAQs:
Peeling suggestions: The goal is to peel off only the green skin on the surface. The tender flesh of lettuce is rich in nutrition. Peeling too much is a waste. However, when encountering old tendons or damaged areas, peel more. For relatively old lettuce, peel an extra layer to remove the rough fiber for a better taste.
Precautions: It is best to wear gloves when peeling, which is both hygienic and safe. Peeled lettuce is prone to oxidation and discoloration. It is recommended to cut it into sections and use it in time. If not used temporarily, you can soak the peeled lettuce in cold water to keep its moisture and white color.
However, if the lettuce you buy is relatively old and has an astringent taste, you can quickly blanch it in boiling water for a few seconds before cooking, then immediately take it out and drain it before stir-frying. This can remove some of the astringency, but it is not recommended to soak it for a long time to avoid affecting the taste and nutrition.
When making a vegetable salad, combine it cleverly with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The softness of lettuce, the freshness of cucumbers, and the juiciness of tomatoes, combined with the unique crisp and tender taste of lettuce. In one bite, the rich flavors interweave and collide on the tip of the tongue.
When seasoning, add a few drops of olive oil to make the lettuce taste more silky; add some vinegar, and the sour taste spreads, which is appetizing and refreshing; sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and the flavor is immediately sublimated. If you add some nuts, cheeses, and fruits such as almonds, parmesan cheese, and strawberries to embellish it, the nutrition of the lettuce salad will be even better, and the taste will be more diverse and attractive.
When lettuce is stir-fried, it will secrete a lot of water by itself. This kind of refreshing and crisp tenderness is exactly the charm of stir-fried lettuce. Once thickened, the soup will be thick and sticky, which will completely destroy the original crisp taste of lettuce and deviate the dish from the refreshing original taste of stir-frying.
Stir-fry lettuce quickly with medium-high heat throughout the whole process to firmly lock the crispness and tenderness of lettuce. If you think the dish is a bit dry, sprinkle a little clear water before serving and then quickly stir-fry to collect the juice, so as to take into account both refreshing and moist.
REVIEWS
