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Lettuce has always been a go-to raw vegetable for salads, sandwiches, and burgers. But did you know you can also serve lettuce that is cooked by blanching? In this recipe, it shows how to serve blanched lettuce with a poured garlicky, savory sauce to give its delicious base flavor.
The Auspicious Symbolism and Popularity of Lettuce in Chinese Culture
Chinese people love lettuce, known as “shēng cài” (生菜), because of its auspicious symbolism and positive associations with prosperity and vitality.
The word “shēng” (生) in “shēng cài” carries connotations of growth and abundance, aligning with the desire for prosperity, especially during festive occasions like the Lunar New Year.
Additionally, the pronunciation of “shēng cài” (生菜) sounds similar to “shēng cái” (生财), meaning “to grow wealth,” further enhancing its appeal.
Lettuce’s versatility and mild flavor also make it a popular ingredient in various Chinese dishes.
What To Love About This Cooked Lettuce Recipe
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to cook lettuce for your weekly meal plan or special celebrations, this cooked lettuce recipe only requires two heads of lettuce and six ingredients for the sauce.
You will love this recipe since it requires short active cooking time, making you spend little time in the kitchen.
The lettuce is first soaked in salt water for 5 minutes, then blanched for 20 seconds in boiling water. Lastly, you simply make the sauce and pour it onto the blanched lettuce – and done!
To make the sauce, you will need minced garlic, red bell pepper, hot oil, light soy sauce, black vinegar, and a little bit of sugar.
This is the perfect high-fiber dish that you can whip up in less than 10 minutes. Enjoy the slight crunch of the lettuce and the garlicky, savory sauce.
Add more fiber and variety to your meals with these easy vegetable recipes:
- Ong Choy With Garlic Sauce
- Boiled Okra With Spicy Savory Sauce
- Steamed Cabbage Rolls In Savory Sauce
- Malabar Spinach With Oyster Sauce
- A Choy Blanched With Garlic Sauce (Taiwanese Lettuce)
- Blanched Bok Choy With Vegetable Sauce
- Bok Choy With Savory Oyster Sauce
- Chinese Stuffed Mushrooms
All About The Lettuce
What type of lettuce is best?
For this recipe, it is best to use long lettuce leaves, such as romaine, little gem, and green leaf lettuce. However, you can also use shorter leaves like iceberg lettuce.
Why soak the lettuce leaves in salt water?
The best way to clean the leaves is to soak them in salt water for about 5 minutes. This removes all impurities and insect eggs. Afterward, rinse the salt water from the leaves with clean water.
Why blanch the leaves with salt and oil?
After cleaning the leaves with salt water, it is now ready for blanching. Bring a pot with water to a boil and mix in salt and oil. Salt and oil are essential in retaining the bright green color of the leaves. Moreover, these also serve as a flavor enhancer.
How long should the leaves be blanched?
I blanched the leaves in boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds only. Just a few seconds of blanching is ideal for keeping its crisp texture. If you blanch longer, the leaves will turn limp and lose more nutrients.
Keep in mind the leaves will continue to cook when the hot oil sauce is poured all over. Before pouring the hot sauce, you can stop the lettuce from further cooking by soaking it in ice-cold water right after blanching. This helps rehydrate the leaves and retain their crunch as you prepare the sauce.
How To Make The Sauce Dressing
A mix of garlic, red bell pepper, light soy sauce, sugar, and Chinese black vinegar has been my favorite combination for easy-pour sauces. Use these seasonings with hot oil as your base for the oil-based dressing. Here are some tips and alternatives to consider when making the sauce:
- Garlic: Use minced garlic to add a nutty and pungent taste to the sauce. If you do not have garlic, substitute 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic for 1 clove of garlic. You can also use pre-cooked garlic like ready-made Crispy Fried Garlic.
- Red bell pepper: Use thinly sliced or shredded red bell pepper. The closest alternatives to red bell peppers are green and yellow bell peppers. You can swap this with red chili pepper if you prefer something hot and spicy instead of the sweet and fruity taste of bell peppers.
- Hot oil: I used hot oil to cook the garlic and red bell pepper in a heat-resistant bowl. To do this, you will need to heat up the oil in the pan until it starts to sizzle. Pouring hot oil over the aromatics is a common technique used in Chinese steamed dishes, such as steamed fish. I recommend using oil with a high smoke point, such as avocado, peanut, canola, and corn oil. In this way, it reduces the amount of oil oxidized and can withstand heat longer. If you prefer something healthier, go for olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil. Alternatively, you can simply heat the oil in the pan and stir-fry the garlic and red bell pepper directly in the pan.
- Light soy sauce: To season the sauce, add light soy sauce. I love soy sauce for its salty, deep, and umami taste. Other options include tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Chinese black vinegar: To counter the salty light soy sauce, use Chinese black vinegar. This adds a fruity, tangy, and slightly sweet taste. Chinese black vinegar is also known as Chinkiang vinegar or Zhenjiang vinegar. You can buy this in Asian stores, on Amazon, or in the international section of local grocery stores. You can swap black vinegar with white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, date vinegar, or red wine vinegar, but the taste won’t be the same.
- Sugar: To balance the salty soy sauce and tangy vinegar, add a bit of sugar. Adjust the sweetness to taste. You can use any type of sweetener, including white sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
- Optional flavoring ingredients:
- Oyster sauce: This is a common sauce ingredient that adds umaminess, brininess, and a hint of caramel-like taste. You can substitute oyster sauce with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Chili: Make it spicy with chili flakes, chili powder, or cayenne pepper powder. You can also use my chili oil recipe. For a quick version of chili oil, follow my Szechuan dumpling recipe using chili flakes, white sesame seeds, and hot oil.
- Mushrooms: To add protein and an earthy taste, you can stir-fry some mushrooms and combine them with the lettuce. Use fresh or dried shiitake, maitake, button, or oyster mushrooms. Aside from mushrooms, you can incorporate fried tofu cubes or soy meat for more protein.
- White pepper: White pepper makes the sauce musty and lends a subtle heat. You can swap this with regular black pepper powder, but it will be woody and piney to taste.
- Ginger slices: Add a spicy, warming taste with ginger slices or ginger powder.
- Green onions: Aside from garlic and ginger, an additional aromatic best combined with the sauce is green onions. This adds a pop of green color and a hint of oniony taste.
- Cornstarch slurry: If you want to make the sauce creamy and thick, you can mix in cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp of cornstarch + 2 tbsp of water). Cook the sauce in the pan with the cornstarch slurry and stir until it thickens.
Ingredients & Kitchenware
Prepare a knife for chopping, a bowl for soaking, and a pan for blanching. It is also essential to use a heat-resistant bowl and serving plate since the sauce is made with hot piping oil. The ingredients needed are the following:
- 2 heads lettuce, approximately 400g
- A bowl salt water (about 1 tbsp of salt)
- Water for blanching
- 1 tbsp salt (for blanching)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil (for blanching)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp shredded red bell pepper
- 1 large scoop of hot oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp black vinegar
- 1 tsp white sugar (to taste)
How To Make Cooked Lettuce With Dressing
The recipe steps call for soaking, blanching, and making the sauce. These are super simple and easy to follow, which you can probably do in less than 10 minutes. Learn how to make this dish with my 40-second tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok.
Pair this dish with rice paper dumplings, celtuce stir-fry, or bitter melon stir-fry with pork. What do you think of this simple cooked lettuce recipe? Share your thoughts and recommendations by posting a comment and tagging me @kitchenmisadventures.
- Chop the base of the lettuce, separate the leaves, and soak the lettuce in a bowl of salt water for 5 minutes.
- Take out the lettuce leaves and drain the water. Wash the leaves with clean water to remove excess impurities and salt.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and cooking oil to retain the vibrant green color of the leaves.
- Boil the lettuce leaves for 20 to 30 seconds, gently pressing them down with chopsticks to ensure they are fully submerged in the water. Remove from the pot, drain well, and arrange the lettuce neatly on a heat-resistant serving plate. Avoid overcooking the lettuce to prevent it from going limp and becoming bitter.
- In a heat-resistant bowl, add minced garlic and shredded red bell pepper.
- Heat oil in a saucepan until sizzling hot. Carefully pour the heated oil into a bowl, then season with light soy sauce, black vinegar, and a pinch of white sugar. Adjust the seasoning to taste and mix well.
- Pour the dressing over the lettuce leaves. Enjoy this dish while hot and fresh!
Blanch Lettuce With A Garlicky Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 heads of lettuce approximately 400g
- A bowl of salt water about 1 tbsp of salt
- Water for blanching
- 1 tbsp salt for blanching
- 2 tbsp cooking oil for blanching
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp shredded red bell pepper
- 1 large scoop of hot oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp black vinegar
- 1 tsp white sugar to taste
Instructions
- Chop the base of the lettuce, separate the leaves, and soak the lettuce in a bowl of salt water for 5 minutes.
- Take out the lettuce leaves and drain the water. Wash the leaves with clean water to remove excess impurities and salt.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add salt and cooking oil to retain the vibrant green color of the leaves.
- Boil the lettuce leaves for 20 to 30 seconds, gently pressing them down with chopsticks to ensure they are fully submerged in the water. Remove from the pot, drain well, and arrange the lettuce neatly on a heat-resistant serving plate. Avoid overcooking the lettuce to prevent it from going limp and becoming bitter.
- In a heat-resistant bowl, add minced garlic and shredded red bell pepper.
- Heat oil in a saucepan until sizzling hot. Carefully pour the heated oil into a bowl, then season with light soy sauce, black vinegar, and a pinch of white sugar. Adjust the seasoning to taste and mix well.
- Pour the dressing over the lettuce leaves. Enjoy this dish while hot and fresh!
