Recipes › Lettuce (Cos/Romaine) › San Choy Bow — Chinese Pork and Mushroom in Cos Lettuce Cups
San Choy Bow — Chinese Pork and Mushroom in Cos Lettuce Cups
San choy bow is one of those dishes where the lettuce is absolutely load-bearing — it is the bowl, the crunch and the freshness all at once. The filling is a deeply savoury stir-fry of minced pork, water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms seasoned with oyster sauce and a little sesame oil, then scooped straight into crisp cos cups at the table.
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Ingredients
- 2 Cos/Romaine lettuce, leaves carefully separated to form cups, washed and dried
- 500 g pork minceor turkey mince
- 30 g dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes, drained and finely choppedor 100g fresh chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
- 225 g tinned water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced, white and green parts separated
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, molluscs, nuts, sesame, soya, sulphites.
Method
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in 200ml of just-boiled water for 15 minutes. Once soft, drain and finely chop. While they soak, prepare all your other ingredients — this dish moves fast once the wok is hot.About 15 min
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over the highest heat you have until it is smoking. Add the neutral oil, then the white parts of the spring onions, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 60 seconds until fragrant — keep everything moving.About 1 min
- Add the pork mince, breaking it up with a spatula. Stir-fry for 4–5 minutes until cooked through and beginning to brown in places. Don't be tempted to stir too constantly — let it sit for 30 seconds at a time to get some colour.About 5 min
- Add the chopped shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Pour over the rice wine or sherry and let it sizzle and mostly evaporate — about 30 seconds.About 3 min
- Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce, toss everything together and cook for a further 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir through the sesame oil and the green parts of the spring onions.About 2 min
- Transfer the pork filling to a warm serving bowl and place the cos lettuce cups alongside on a platter. Scatter chilli over the filling if using. Let everyone spoon their own filling into lettuce cups at the table.
Tips
- Select the larger outer cos leaves for the cups — they are sturdier and hold more filling. Save the inner leaves for a side salad.
- The filling needs to be generously seasoned to hold its own against the neutral crunch of the lettuce. Taste before serving and add a splash more soy if needed.
- Serve the filling immediately while hot — the temperature contrast with the cold crisp lettuce is essential.
Ring the changes
- Use finely chopped firm tofu and swap oyster sauce for hoisin to make this vegetarian.
- Prawn or chicken mince both work well in place of pork.
Keeping it
Store leftover filling in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat thoroughly in a pan before serving. Store lettuce leaves separately, wrapped in damp kitchen paper in the fridge.
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