San choy bow is a favourite in every Aussie household for it’s simple, yet delicious, flavour and easy creation.
With Chinese sausage, garlic, ginger, pork and water chestnuts for a lovely crunch, you won’t even realise you’re eating something healthy. Served in lettuce cups with chilli on top, this recipe is fast, easy and full of flavour.
Ingredients
Method
To make lettuce cups, carefully separate lettuce leaves. Rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan on high heat. Stir-fry sausage for 30 seconds or until golden. Stir in garlic and ginger, taking care it doesn’t burn.
Add pork mince, breaking up with a spatula. Stir-fry for 3–5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in mushrooms and water chestnuts. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, until softened.
Add wine and bring to the boil. Stir in sauces, sugar, oil and pepper. Heat through. If mixture is too runny, stir in cornflour mixture. Stir-fry for a further minute or until thickened. Stir in white part of onion. Remove from heat and stir in green part of onion. Season to taste with salt.
Spoon filling into lettuce cups. Garnish with extra onions and chilli.
Cook’s tip
Water chestnuts add a delicious crunch. You’ll find cans of chestnuts at large supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, along with Chinese-style Lap Cheong sausage and Shaoxing wine.
What is a san choy bow?
San choy bow is a Chinese appetiser dish. Also called a lettuce cup, it traditionally includes pork mince, water chestnuts and Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) in the filling, along with lots of aromatics and spices. It is very common to find san choy bow at Chinese restaurants in Australia, and is an easy dish to replicate at home with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
