Share Share on FacebookShare on Google+Pin on PinterestTweet about this on TwitterShare on Yummly


This recipe introduces a “Simple Stir-Fry” technique called “清炒” (qīng chǎo). It can be used not only to stir-fry lettuce but also many other green vegetables such as baby bok choy, cabbage, asparagus, spinach, or snow peas. For firmer vegetables with blanching technique, please see Stir-Fried Green Beans for an example. 

The first time I saw a salad bar in the States was my first experience with culture shock. A full plate of raw vegetables? Is that really edible? Us Chinese always cooked our veggies! Despite my confusion, I specifically noticed the lettuce laying in salad bar. Back then, I rarely found vegetables I was familiar with in American supermarkets — there was no bok choy or tofu. My auntie in Virginia grew bean sprouts herself. As a student living on a minimal scholarship, I found the price of the lettuce appealing — so I set forth on an adventure of stir-frying the economical lettuce found on the Western salad plates.

Is lettuce “stir-fry-able”? I heated up a fry pan, swirled in oil and garlic, and gave the lettuce a quick stir with a little of salt for a couple of minutes. To my surprise, the lettuce came out nice and crispy. This method gave tasteless lettuce some character! Since then, it has become an indispensable approach for a variety of green leafy vegetables when I need to pull together a quick side dish!  It was not until many years later I learned from Grace Young’s Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge that stir-fried lettuce is an auspicious dish the Cantonese serve during Chinese New Year, because the Cantonese word for lettuce, saang choi, is a homonym for “growing fortune”.  

As my love for Western salads grew over the years, I continued appreciating the simple Chinese stir-fry method. One of the blessings as an immigrant is that you get to explore different cultures, and learn, bridge, mix, and enjoy them all!ChineseNewYearUSLanterns in St Annes Square, Manchester, for the Chinese New Year by Gidzy (CC BY)

Subscribe Youtube
Share On Youtube
Add to Favourites