My Chinese Recipe Menu
- How I Feel About This Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
- Story Behind the Lettuce
- Original Name
- Cooking Tips
- Cooking Time
- Ingredients to Make Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
- Food
- Seasonings
- How to Make Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
- Preparation
- Cooking
How I Feel About This Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
Lettuce with oyster sauce is one of the dishes I cook most frequently at home simply because it's easy and quick.
I still remember the first time my French friend tried this lettuce with oyster sauce. He said, "It's like a salad, but not a salad." That's right! We cook lettuce by boiling it for just a minute, which keeps it fresh and crisp without being raw.
The flavor of lettuce combines soy sauce and oyster sauce, enhanced by garlic and a touch of oil, making the lettuce smell incredibly appetizing.
Story Behind the Lettuce
The pronunciation of Lettuce sounds similar to the word "make money" in Chinese, which has good meaning. The dish lettuce with oyster sauce is said from 600 years ago.
Lettuce was first spread to ancient Egypt and gradually domesticated into what is now oilseed lettuce. During ancient Roman times, it spread to southern Europe, where it hybridized with local wild lettuce and began to be cultivated and consumed as leaf lettuce. It was subsequently introduced to China.
Original Name
- Translated English Name: Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
- Original Chinese Pronunciation: Hao You Sheng Cai 耗油生菜
Note: You may use the Chinese name to order in China because the translated English name of the dishes might be different in every restaurant.
Cooking Tips
- Don't boil the lettuce for too long. I usually turn off the heat and cook the lettuce in the boiling water.
- Be careful when cooking the oyster sauce. Hot oil and garlic with water can cause splatters.
- If the oyster sauce is too salty for your taste, add some water and pour it out. Repeat this process until it suits your preference.
Cooking Time
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Ingredients to Make Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
Serving: 1
Food
Lettuce — 1 head
Garlic — 3 cloves
Seasonings
Oyster Sauce — 1 tablespoon
Light Soy Sauce — 1 tablespoon
Oil — 2 tablespoon
How to Make Lettuce with Oyster Sauce
Preparation
1. Separate the whole leaves from lettuce. Rinse and drain these lettuce leaves.
2. Cut 3 cloves of garlic.
Cooking
1. Boil a pan of water.
2. Turn off the heat and put the lettuce in. Leave it for 20 seconds. Drain the lettuce and put it on the plate. (Leave some water with lettuce is fine and it would mix with the sauce. )
3. Let's prepare the oyster sauce. Add 2 tbsps oil to a small frying pan and heat until Medium hot. Put garlic puree in. When you smell the flavor, turn the heat to low and add 1 tbsp Oyster sauce and 1 tbsp Soy sauce. Boil the sauce and then turn off the heat.
4. Pour over the plated lettuce. It's done. Now you have the dish lettuce with oyster Sauce. Your friend would definitely like this salad-like Lettuce dish .
