San Choy Bow recipe

These lettuce cups, which are Asian-inspired, contain stir-fried pork mince and ground Sichuan Peppercorns.

You can also use any mince, even crumbled tofu, if you don’t want to use pork mince.

Chinese Five Spice Powder combines star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, Sichuan pepper, cloves, and star anise. This combination and additional ground Sichuan Peppercorns make this dish very aromatic and fragrant. It also has a slight hum of chili. You can reduce the amount of Sichuan peppercorns if you don’t like chili.

Red capsicum, carrots, corn kernels are part of this dish, and the iceberg lettuce cups.

Water chestnuts are a traditional addition to this dish. They can be found in the canned vegetable aisle at your supermarket.

You can easily modify this recipe by adding or removing vegetables to make it more interesting.

You can also swap out iceberg lettuce for cos lettuce in the cups. They work great.

These lettuce cups are heavier and more suitable for the main meal than an appetizer.

Rice vermicelli noodles are also low in calories, so they’re still very healthy.

Tools of the Trade

This recipe requires only a wok. This one-pan dish is quick and easy to make and requires less clean-up.

Serving Suggestions

The pork filling can be prepared ahead of time, but the lettuce cups should be assembled and plated in the cups before serving to preserve freshness and prevent the lettuce from becoming too soggy.

To finish, I sprinkle peanuts and coriander over the dish. This enhances the flavours and adds a bit of texture. Fresh lime or lemon wedges are also great.

This dish would be great paired with a crisp, aromatic white wine such as a Riesling or a Viognier.

How to Make My San Choy Bow?

All the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce should be combined in a large bowl.
To make it hot, heat a wok on medium-high flame for a few seconds.
Make sure the base of the wok is fully coated with vegetable oil.
Stir fry the ginger and garlic paste with the green portion of the spring onions until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Mix the pork mince in with the spices. Then, add the spices and mix well.
After the mince is browned, stir in the chili, red capsicums, carrots, corn kernels, and water chestnuts. Mix until all is well combined.
Mix the Chinese cooking wine into the pan and let it cool. This will allow the pan to dry.
Next, add the stir-fry sauce and give it a good whisking before you add it in.
Mix and cook it for another couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and spices if necessary.
Turn off the heat in the wok.
Place a few lettuce cups on plates. Add a tablespoon vermicelli noodles and then spoon some of the pork mixture.
Each lettuce cup should be topped with fresh chilli, peanuts, coriander, and served alongside the lemon wedges.