San Choy Bow

Method

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1. Stir the hoisin, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

   Mark done

2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the pork and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is browned and any liquid has cooked off.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

3. Add the garlic, ginger and the white parts of the spring onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and carrot and cook for 3 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

4. Stir in the water chestnuts and the sauce and cook for 2 minutes, until glossy and the sauce has been absorbed. Taste and adjust.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

5. Spoon the filling into the lettuce cups. Top with the green spring onion, crispy noodles, chilli and coriander, and serve straight away.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• Cook the pork until it is dry and browned. Wet mince turns the lettuce cups soggy.
• Dice the water chestnuts, mushrooms and carrot finely and evenly. They then cook at the same rate and sit neatly in the cups.
• Fill the cups at the table. The hot filling wilts the lettuce if it sits.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• A pinch of dried chilli flakes works in place of fresh chilli — start with about a third of the quantity the red chilli in the list implies, since dried chilli is more concentrated, and add more to taste.
• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.

Pairing Suggestions

• Steamed rice
• Sweet chilli sauce
• A light beer

Storage & Reheating

Keep the filling in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat in a hot pan. Assemble the cups fresh.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.