Celtuce is also called Chinese lettuce or Chinese stem celtuce. It is not a common vegetable in western countries but I feel it is necessary to introduce it to you since its great taste and of cause the green color.
The Chinese name of celtuce is “莴笋 wosun” which is a common and popular ingredients in Chinese people kitchen. It belongs to lettuce family. There are different types of Chinese stem celtuce in different area of China. And in general, they can be classified into two groups–the first group is to use the stem and the other group is to use leaves. Both leaves and stem can be used for stir-fry recipes.
There is a picture of Chinese celtuce mainly planted for the stem.
Why I recommend it? There are three reasons:
- Firstly both leaves and stem are excellent ingredients for eating especially for diets and healthy recipes.
- The stem is crispy, fresh, and has a really pure green color.
- It is quite beneficial to human body. It can help body to secrete more digestive ferment thus further help the digest system and improve appetizer.
Following is a picture about how Chinese celtuce is planted in earth.
The recipe today is a simple stir-fried celtuce stem recipe which only needs no more than 10 minutes. Thus if you can find some in your local market, then this should be a recipe that worth trying.
As for cooking, it can be cooked separately due to its unique taste or can also be used in stir-fried recipes of some strong flavored ingredients for a contrast (I guess contrast makes things more beautifully)
The stem can be stir-fried in the texture of shreds, long trips or thin pieces. Today I use long trips. Generally, the shreds can be directly used for stir-frying while long trips should be rinsed in boiling water firstly in order to keep the green color.
As for the taste, stir-fried long trips are crispier than shreds due to the cooking method and process.
Following is the step by step pictures: cook in boiling water->heat up oil with peppercorn, garlic and ginger->Stir-fry main ingredient.
Side Dish
Chinese
Celtuce, stir fry
-
200
g
Celtuce Stem -
1
garlic clove -
1
small piece of ginger -
1
tbsp
Sichuan peppercorn - cooking oil
-
Peel the skin of stem. Then cut it into long trips. Chop garlic clove and cut ginger into shreds.
-
Rise the long trips in boiling water for around 1 minute (control the time in order to keep the original color). Remove from the wok and set aside.
-
Heat up some oil in wok; add ginger, garlic and Sichuan peppercorn to stir-fry until smelling the taste of garlic and peppercorn. Add cooked long trips and quick fry for about 1 minute.
-
Add salt, mix together and serve.
-
You can also making it as a salad dish. Cool the cooked trips down and mix the heated oil with garlic, ginger, and peppercorn together with it. The ingredients are the same but it taste differently.
Calories from Fat 72