June 24--Lettuce

Wow--what a surprise! Who knew that plain old iceberg lettuce could almost taste like bok choy! One of the lettuces that we received this week was a gigantic head of iceberg lettuce. Look what I did with it last night--or at least half of it!

Stir-fried Garlic Lettuce

1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¾ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 lb. hearts of romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide pieces
1 teaspoon sesame oil (see note)

1.Combine the rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.

2.Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the vegetable oil, add the garlic, and stir-fry for 5 seconds. Add the lettuce and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it is just limp. Stir the sauce, swirl it into the wok, and stir-fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute more, or until the lettuce is just tender and still bright green. Remove from the heat, drizzle on the sesame oil, and serve.

Changes to the recipe are as follows: I actually pureed the garlic and cut up the lettuce into inch wide ribbons--cross-grain.