Stir Fried Crispy Romaine Lettuce has a light essence of ginger, garlic, sesame oil and chili flakes, if you like a little kick, and is the perfect way to eat your salad in the cooler months.
Stir Frying Lettuce?
I know what you thinking...
What??? Cooked romaine lettuce??? Are you insane??? Lettuce is supposed to be served cold!!!
When most people think of eating lettuce, they think of a nice cold tossed salad to accompany a meal. However, do not knock this stir fried romaine lettuce recipe until you have tried it. It is crispy, light, flavorful and ready in less than 5 minutes from start to finish.
Light and Lovely Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce
Sometimes in the restaurants in Hong Kong, this lettuce dish will be smothered with a thick sauce. I prefer a lighter version of this dish. My family likes a combination of roughly chopped romaine, garlic, ginger, shoaxing wine, dash of salt and white pepper, drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkle of dried chili flakes. Stir fried romaine lettuce is light, healthy, gluten-free, vegan, diabetic friendly and cardiac friendly.
Stir fried romaine lettuce, is a great alternative to a tossed salad in the cooler months. It is a completely balanced food with the yin properties of the lettuce and the yang properties of the garlic and dried hot chili flakes. However if you do not believe in any of these theories, no worries just try the dish anyways just because it tastes great. In less than 5 minutes you can have a crisp, spicy vegetable dish will knock your socks off.
Generally speaking, Chinese culture does not usually include eating too many raw foods. Everything is either stir fried, steamed, fried, placed in a soup or placed in a hot-pot, including their lettuce. Cold foods are not good for your digestion health. To learn more about this preventative therapy, be sure to read Feed Your Spleen: Nourish Your Body.
Food is Medicine
In addition, Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM) and Chinese nutrition therapy there is a relationship to food in the prevention of diseases and it has been around for 1000's of years, so it can't be wrong. One of the central ideas in this belief system is that certain foods have a "hot" or heat inducing quality (yang) while others have a "cold" or chilling effect (Yin) on one's body, organs or "energy" levels. The idea being that upset to one's natural balance of "heat" and "cold" in a body can cause disease or be more conducive towards sickness. Learn more about this concept in our Introducing the Five Energies of food Article.
Yin and Yang
Yang foods are believed to increase the body's heat, while Yin foods are believed to decrease the body's heat or decrease the metabolism. Just to confuse you a little further some fruits and vegetables can be yin, some yang and some neutral (such as sweet potato and carrots). According to TCM, lettuce is a cooling (yin) vegetable. Ginger and chili are heating (yang) vegetables/herbs. Therefore the mix of both the yin and yang attributes gives Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce a nice balance.
Changing Seasons need Warming Nourishing Meals
I know that no matter where you are around the world you can relate to this. Some of you are still shoveling the snow off your roofs (that is a new kind of hell), some of you are ending summer such as in Australia (too cold to surf ) and some of you are in the super humidity of the tropics (REALLY bad hair days) like me. The key word here is change. We are in changing seasons and when the body experiences the change from hot to cold or cold to hot in the weather more illnesses such as the common cold and flu decide to come around. Please be good to yourself and increase your immunity by eating healthy balanced (ying/yang) foods and getting plenty of rest.
Difference between Yin and Yang Foods
Generally speaking, Yang foods tend to be dense in energy from fat, while Yin foods tend to have high water content. My Chinese friends ideally try to eat both types of food to keep the body in balance. Maybe even without thinking about it, even if you do not have a Chinese heritage, you normally crave lighter dishes such as salads and such in the summer months and in the winter we crave soups, stews and carbohydrates. It is just a natural thing.
Best Types of Lettuces for Stir Frying
Romaine lettuce is used instead of other lettuces such as loose leaf, rocket, mesclun and butter head as it is firm and can hold up to the stir fry process. Iceberg lettuce also works too. However, endive and radicchio can also be used but they have stronger flavors and I like the delicate taste of the romaine.
Foshan, China's Beautiful China Plates
Don't you love my beautiful blue plates displaying my stir fried romaine lettuce from Foshan, China?!! If you ever head my way you have to for sure check out Foshan as this town is just about 2 hours and 55 minutes hours bus ride from the Hong Kong border and they have shops and shops filled with gorgeous Chinese little dishes, vases and plates.
If you are foodie or a food blogger, you know how we all have this love/obsession for small little plates and dishes. Check out these lovely vases below... I need a bigger kitchen and more cupboard space.
The next time you open your crisper and you see romaine lettuce, I hope you give this Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce a try instead of making a side salad to go with your meal. Have a super day!
More Delicious Chinese Recipes
Garlic Chili Stir Fried Lotus Root
Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce
Spiced Yam and Vegetable Stir Fry
Wood Ear Mushroom Vegan Stir Fry
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Stir Fried Romaine Lettuce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 inch ginger knob fresh , peeled and grated.
- 3 cloves garlic
peeled and minced - 2 heads romaine lettuce
medium sized, washed, dried and cut into about 2 inch segments. - salt and white pepper
to taste - 1 tablespoon rice wine (shao xing) or cooking sherry
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon dried chili flakes - ½ teaspoon or to taste (optional) or to taste - optional
Instructions
- In a wok or frying pan add your canola oil, ginger and garlic and fry about 1 minute until aromatic.
- Add the cut and dried romaine lettuce, salt and white pepper (I prefer the light flavours of just a light dusting of salt and white pepper but you can also use one tablespoon of soya sauce (tamari) or even ½ teaspoon of gluten free vegetable powder, if you wish), sugar (optional), shoaxing wine and toss quickly. Immediately Remove from heat: It is very important that you remove the roam in lettuce from heat while the romaine is just starting to wilt as the heat from the pan will continue to cook the romaine lettuce even after you remove it from the heat. Drizzle over sesame oil and dried chili flakes if desired and toss.
- Enjoy as a delicious healthy vegetable side dish.
wok with ray says
Preparation, right temperature, good wok, and expert cook like you can keep the crispness of stir fried lettuce. Otherwise, lettuce will go south. Good job making this dish, Bobbie. Have a great weekend! 🙂
Amira says
Yin or Yang I've gotta try this... I've recently suffered from horrible teeth sensitivity that made me unable to enjoy my cold salad... I keep adding it to hot soup so I can eat it. Now I've a new idea to enjoy lettuce without the pain...
kitchenriffs says
I've used romaine in a stir-fry before! It's really good, but it's been some time since I've done it. Need to try it again -- this really is a good dish. Really nice photos. speaking of photos, you asked how many I typically take (I answered your question on my blog, but I'll repeat it here so you don't need to swing by there to see it). Before I started shooting tethered it was at least 100 to get the 4 I typically use for each post. Sometimes more like 150. Now that I'm shooting tethered, it's usually 40 to 70 -- normally around 50 or 60.It actually takes longer to shoot tethered because I'm using Lightroom to do it, and I can crop photos as I take them to check the composition and do a raw conversion to make sure things will look like I expect them to. So I tend to tinker a bit more with the composition and lighting -- but taking photos is fun, so that's pure pleasure. Anyway, great dish -- thanks.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks so much John. I have a long way to go to catch up with photography and I appreciate any hints or help you can pass my way. I really need to get sorted to shoot tethered and this means I need to purchase a few things to get ready to do that. Are you shooting your photo shots in raw format? I tinker quite a bit with lighting and props and of course I have my lovely puppy who thinks that when I change locations with the food that I have just brought him the dinner dish. I have to work hard to keep my dog's nose out of the photo shoots... LOL
The Foodie Affair says
Ugh -sorry for the typos!
The Foodie Affair says
Would haver net thought to stir-fry romaine lettuce! It looks fantastic! I would be interested to learn even more about TCM - so interesting! I don't know how you can be surrounded by all those gorgeous dishes and refrain from buying them all!
mimi says
This looks great! I love all of the flavors. The French braise lettuce - I even posted on one recipe that combines peas and lettuce. It makes sensse! Beautiful photos!
Gerlinde @ sunnycovechef says
This is what I like about blogging. Reading your beautiful post and gaining an understanding of the Ying and Yang foods. I love romaine lettuces and will make your recipe soon. Thank you
shashi at runninsrilankan says
I saw that headline and was so totally fascinated! Sri lankan culture believes in the balance of "hot" and "cold" foods too - but I've never seen stir fried lettuce before - In winter months, I crave salads too, but eating them makes me so cold - but this is a way for me to satisfy my cravings - I am so gonna try this tonight - Thanks Bobbie!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Many years of cultures and beliefs by so many people, can't be wrong... I crave lettuce too but eating them cold, especially in the winter does not hit the spot. We cook this stir fried romaine lettuce very frequently at home as my boys love it. Of course they like the chili flakes, they are so predictable.
dcostillo says
Thanks for this recipe. Made it for our family, and all four of us loved it. We'll do this again!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hello David, thanks so much for stopping by and I am delighted to hear that you liked this dish. Take care, BAM
Sophie says
Hi! We made this for dinner tonight and really liked it. Ryan says that this, along with cashew chicken, is one of his new favorite meals. He says, "It's amazing!"
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Sophie and Ryan for trying my recipe. I am so glad you liked it. Take Care, BAM
Zoe @ Pantry and Fridge says
We have an old family recipe where we serve warm red lettuce in a sweet vinegar broth. I haven't thought about it since my Grandmother passed. It's called Wilted Lettuce. 😀
I will make yours for sure but this has also made me want to make my Gran's.
Thank you for this post! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Food has a way of becoming nostalgic to us and it has so many memories attached to it. Please make your grandma recipe for wilted lettuce and post it on your website, love to hear about it.
Zoe @ Pantry and Fridge says
That's a great idea. 🙂 I will definitely have to enlist my momma's help on it, though. It's been a loooong time.
Cheers 😀
Taryn (Have Kitchen, Will Feed) says
Thanks so much for sharing this; it's such an interesting concept to me. I'll have to try next time I have a nice looking lettuce.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by Taryn. I know the concept gets some getting used to, but the taste is great as romaine lettuce becomes slightly sweet when it is cooked gently. Take Care
Joanne says
This is so intriguing!!! I imagine it's sort of like a thinner bok choy type stir fry? I don't know, that's how it looks to me. Glad it still keeps its crunch...I bet it's delicious! I'm bookmarking this!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Joanne, it just takes a lot less time to cook compared to bok choy. Really just a super quick stir in a hot wok/pan and it is done. Give it a try. Take care
The Moonlight & Star Cafe says
Love it! I am definitely going to try this one!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by. Take care
Just A Smidgen says
Well, this is first for me! It looks like it would be a perfect, light meal and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand. Another healthy way to get veggies in:)
Healthy World Cuisine says
Many of us do have these ingredients in our refrigerator/pantry so it is an easy standby dish. Take Care