In the West, lettuce is a vegetable used almost exclusively in salads, but in Asia, it's used interchangeably with other leafy greens like bok choy and spinach in stir-fries. The concept may sound weird at first and may even conjure up images of a soggy salad, but when it's done right, it makes for a delicious side dish that can be seasoned any way you like.
When cooking lettuce, you generally want to use one that's got a crisp texture, such as romaine or iceberg, as softer types of lettuce such as bibb won't have a great texture. I also like to blanche it first. This tames the lettuce's green taste and gets rid of the excess water in the leaves and stems, which can make the dish watery when you stir-fry it.
I've gone simple on the seasoning here, and the pungent garlic and tangy lemon make this both savory and refreshing.
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Ingredients
- 1 small head Romaine lettuce
- 1 large clove garlic smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
- Lemon for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the head of lettuce into the water stem-side first. Press the leaves into the water with tongs as they wilt until the entire head is submerged. Blanche the lettuce until the leaves are slightly translucent (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Drain the lettuce and rinse with cold water to chill.
- Once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much excess water from the head of lettuce as possible, trim the stem off, and chop the lettuce into 2-inch long pieces.
- Add the olive oil and garlic to a frying pan over medium-high heat and saute the garlic until it starts to brown around the edges.
- Add the lettuce and then season it with salt and pepper. Stir-fry the lettuce until you get some browning along the edges of the leaves, but it is still crisp and vibrant green (you may need to turn up the heat depending on the heat output of your stove).
- Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
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