Sang choy bao with crispy veg

Sang choy bao with crispy veg

This is a favourite “special occasion” dish from my childhood - sang choy bao (lettuce cups). My mother’s version was filled with lots of crispy vegetables like celery and water chestnuts. While iceberg lettuce is traditionally used, I often now use butter lettuce - their leaves are the perfect size to hold a bundle of savoury filling, and because they are much softer in texture. Of course, use whatever lettuce you have on hand for this recipe. Cos/romaine is another option. You create boats instead of cups, but it is crunchy and refreshing like iceberg.

This recipe makes a generous serving. It will feed 4 hungry diners. Leftover filling can be kept in the fridge for up to five days – I generally like to make a large amount of filling because I eat it during the week, just topping up with more lettuce. You could turn this into a stand-alone dinner party meal by serving it alongside rice or sticky rice and adding bowls of herbs like coriander (cilantro), perilla, shiso, sliced makrut lime leaves, Thai basil, or Vietnamese mint (called Vietnamese coriander or Rau Răm in the US) for guests to add to their parcel, similar to Korean ssam wraps. The fried mung bean vermicelli topping is how it is served at many restaurants but is completely optional. You could easily substitute with store-bought crispy fried onions.

Serves 4 to 6 generously / gluten free, vegan

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Ingredients

• neutral oil such as grapeseed or canola
• 1 carrot, washed and finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 piece ginger (1 inch / 2.5cm) peeled and finely chopped
• 150g fresh shiitake mushrooms (or other variety), trimmed and diced
• ½ teaspoon white sugar
• 450g extra firm tofu (preferably super firm), drained and diced into 1cm cubes
• 140g water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon vegetarian stir fry sauce (or oyster sauce for non-vegetarians)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• sea salt and white pepper
• 2 scallions, finely sliced
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 butter lettuce (or iceberg, romaine/cos), leaves separated, washed, drained and patted dry
• chilli oil or crisp, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Optional crispy topping

• 20g mung bean vermicelli (bean thread), broken up and cut into shorter pieces
• neutral oil

1. Heat a wok or medium frypan on medium-high. When hot, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil, along with the carrot and celery. Stir-fry for 1 minute until slightly softened. Add the garlic, ginger, mushrooms, sugar and cook for 2 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.

2. Add the tofu, water chestnuts, soy sauce or tamari and vegetarian stir-fry sauce and toss to combine for 2 minutes. Add the the pine nuts and toss for 1-2 minutes. Taste and season with sea salt and white pepper.

3. Turn off the heat and add the scallions and sesame oil. Toss and set aside.

4. If you are making the crispy vermicelli, pour some neutral oil into a small pan, so that the oil comes 2-3cm up the sides. Drop in the vermicelli and fry for 30-60 seconds, turning the noodles so that they all crisp up, until they turn white and crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

5. To serve, lay out sets of 2 lettuce leaves (I double up on leaves to create a stronger cup), top with a tablespoon or more of filling. If using, top with chilli oil or crisp, along with crispy mung bean vermicelli. Serve with lime wedges on the side.