Stir-Fried Iceberg Lettuce with Shrimp

Iceberg lettuce is the bastard child of the lettuce family. Prior to making this recipe I cannot remember the last time I bought a head of it. It is just so much nothing. Well, water.

I came across this dish in the New York Times and thought it looked interesting, and easy enough to give it a try.

Shredded iceberg lettuce and scallions are stir-fried over medium-high heat until the lettuce has cooked down. I still had some leeks from the garden so I used them instead of scallions. The greens are set aside on a plate.

Turn the temperature down to medium. Garlic and ginger are then sautéed a bit and the shrimp are added. This is cooked until the shrimp are no longer translucent and are bright pink. This takes two or three minutes.

The lettuce and leeks are then added back into the wok. I deviated from the recipe and also added some softened rice noodles. Finally, a mixture of corn starch, sugar, rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil is added. This is cooked until the sauce thickens.

The verdict is that the dish is good. Not great. Just good. It was somewhat bland. I plan to try this again, but will add something to add a little more flavor.

Bon appétit!