Iceberg Lettuce with Hot Oil and Oyster Sauce

Iceberg Lettuce with Hot Oil

When I was a student in Paris, I hung out quite a bit with a group of Cantonese from mainland China who worked for one of the Chinese nuclear power authorities. They were living in Paris mostly on a 2-3 year basis, collaborating with either France's EDF or with some European nuclear safety organisation.

Once in a while, I would be invited to their place(s) for lunch or dinner which was a real treat when you were a poor student who couldn't cook living in Paris. I remember that one of the girls liked to prepare a plate of vegetables to go with the meal (usually involving quite a number of dishes) and not being able to find Chinese vegetables at times, she would cook fresh salad leaves (e.g. batavia) Chinese-style. And it was delicious.

I was thinking of this group of (now lost) friends and this got me all nostalgic for those simple days. I also came home after a whole morning shopping at Armani and was wondering what I could whip up for a solo lunch. How about fresh and crunchy Iceberg Lettuce with Hot Oil and Oyster Sauce?

Iceberg Lettuce Chinese-style :

1 small head of iceberg lettuce (rinsed and dried)

a pinch of ground black pepper

1 bird's eye chilli (crushed)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 Tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp dry sherry

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp peanut oil

Slice the iceberg into smaller pieces and arrange them on a plate. Season with pepper and chilli if desired.

Mix the oyster, soy sauces, sesame oil, sherry and sugar in a bowl and microwave for 20 seconds to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the salad leaves.

Heat up the peanut oil till very hot in a small pan and pour over the salad leaves. Serve immediately. I ate mine with a few breaded prawn skewers.