Lettuce wraps make for one of the most fun filled family dinners, a visual delight that’s healthy & light to boot! It’s the weekend & a lot of you are now looking for new ideas of what to cook, tired of the same old lockdown recipes.
Add your favourite stir fry recipe to these super crunchy light leaves & add a bit of rice if you prefer something more filling.
I made them 2 ways-a stir fry Veggie one with Paneer, zucchini, fresh cucumbers & mushrooms stir fried in a light n sweet sour tangy sauce. When well prepared, sweet sour dishes are so delicately balanced without being over the top sweet, that its truly difficult to decide whether its sweet or sour.
Another Chilli/Sichuan Fish one for those who enjoy a lil bit of spice n tang to lift up their spirits. Check out the detailed videos to each of them & tell me which one you would rather try out. My kids couldn’t decide, so polished them both off in the blink of an eye!
Recipe for Crunchy Lettuce Wrap Meal – Sichuan Fish
Ingredients
- 1 large head Romaine lettuce / two large leaves per head
- 500 gms boneless cubes Basa or any similar mild fish
- 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, cut in ½ inch cubes
- 1 handful spring onions, finely chopped for garnish
- Oil for deep frying
For the fish marinade
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon schezuan /chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with 1 egg for slurry
For the sauce
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 1 tablespoon schezuan sauce/chilli garlic sauce
- 1.5 teaspoons vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons water to form a paste
Procedure
- Wash the lettuce leaves well & leave them to soak in ice cold water for 15 minutes to perk them up.
- Marinate the fish in soy sauce, pepper, chilli sauce & oil & for about 20 minutes and keep aside.
- Heat the oil in a wok for deep frying & keep your egg-cornflour slurry ready.
- Once the oil is smoking hot, dip the fish pieces in the slurry evenly all over & deep fry 4-5 pieces at a time in the hot oil, ensuring both sides are golden & well cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon & leave them to drain on a kitchen paper towel.
- Get the ingredients ready for the sauce mixture in a small bowl & mix them thoroughly.
- Remove the lettuce leaves from the water & leave them to drip dry on a kitchen towel/pat dry.
- Heat the oil in a large wok or heavy bottom kadhai & once hot, add the onion, ginger garlic & stir fry on high heat for 2 minutes until translucent.
- Add the red pepper & saute on high heat for 1 minute.
- Add the mixed sauces & stir it in.
- Add the fish cubes & stir continuously to combine & blend it all in, on medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup water & the cornflour slurry & cook stirring continuously on medium heat for another minute until the sauce thickens & coats the fish evenly.
- Remove from heat & pour into a bowl. Garnish with spring onion leaves.
- Place two dry lettuce leaves on top of one another in a plate & spoon the mixture onto the leaves.
- Serve immediately or enjoy with a side of plain hot steamed rice.
Notes:
- For a low fat recipe, the same dish can be made without batter frying the fish. Marinate & cook it directly.
Making of Crunchy Lettuce Wrap Meal – Sichuan Fish
The Culinary Konnoisseur 