Chinese Lettuce Cups

Otherwise known as san choy bao, here's my take on this delicious Chinese recipe. Traditionally served as a starter, I’ve increased the serving size so that this recipe provides 2 filling main courses. And while the list of ingredients might look a little intimidating, it’s actually really quick and easy to put together.

Packed full of protein and veggies, this makes a great lunch or a light dinner. It's also relatively low in carbs, so if you're having an active day, simply up the proportion of rice noodles.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

• A thumb-size piece of fresh ginger

• 1 red chilli, finely chopped

• 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

• A handful of coriander. Finely chop the stalks and roughly chop the leaves

• 250g pork mince

• 75g shitake mushrooms, chopped into ~1cm dice

• 50g mangetout, cut into thirds

• 50g baby sweetcorn, cut into thirds

• 50g pak choi, quartered

• 100g water chestnuts, rinsed, drained and chopped into ~1cm dice

• 3 spring onions, sliced into rings

• 60g rice noodles (dry weight)

• An iceberg lettuce, leaves removed, washed and selected for those which look most ‘cup-like’ (see picture). Depending on the size of the leaves you'll want about 3 per serve.

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp rice vinegar or lime juice

Method

• Boil the kettle and prepare a saucepan for cooking the rice noodles.

• Add half of the sesame oil to a large frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.

• Add the chopped coriander stalks and the pork mince and continue to cook until the pork mince has changed colour (from pink to a less appetising-looking grey) and is cooked through.

• Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to packet instructions (usually about 3 minutes in boiling water), then drain and leave to one side.

• Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and vinegar (or lime juice) to the pork and cook for a further minute. Then remove from the heat, tip the contents of the pan into a bowl and keep to one side.

• Return the pan to the heat, then and add the remaining sesame oil along with the mushrooms and fry for 1 minute, stirring continuously, then add the mangetout, sweetcorn, pak choi, water chestnuts and spring onions. Stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes, until the vegetables are just cooked, but still have plenty of crunch.

• Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the pork mix back into to the pan with the vegetables to combine, also adding the noodles and the remaining chopped coriander. Heat through and check the seasoning, you may need to add a little more soy or fish sauce if you’d like it saltier, or more vinegar or lime juice to sharpen it.

• When you’re ready to serve, remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the lettuce cups on a serving plate and spoon the pork mixture between each. No need for cutlery here, just get stuck in with your hands and enjoy!

Nutrition

	Per 100g	Per serve (462g)
Calories	118 kcal	545 kcal
Carbohydrate	8.0 g	36.7 g
of which sugars	1.4 g	6.5 g
Fat	5.2 g	23.8 g
of which saturates	1.6 g	7.2 g
Protein	9.0 g	41.5 g
Fibre	1.3 g	6.2 g