How to Make Stir-Fried Leaf Lettuce with Dace in Black Bean Sauce, Plus Home Cooking Tips

Stir-fried leaf lettuce with dace in black bean sauce is a classic home-style dish made with leaf lettuce (A-choy) as the main ingredient, stir-fried together with canned dace in black bean sauce. The salty savoriness of the black beans and the umami of the dace soak into the crisp, tender leaves, giving a dish that is savory, pleasant, crisp and smooth. It is simple to make and comes together quickly, so it often appears on family dinner tables.

To make this dish, you need fresh leaf lettuce, a can of dace in black bean sauce, and a few cloves of garlic. After washing the leaf lettuce, cut it into bite-sized sections; the stems and leaves can be kept separate. Take out the dace in black bean sauce and break it into small pieces, keeping some of the black beans and fish oil, which are the main source of the dish's flavor.

When cooking, heat a small amount of oil in the wok, first fry the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the dace pieces and black beans and stir-fry until aromatic, then add the leaf lettuce and stir-fry quickly over high heat. Leaf lettuce cooks very easily; the stems can go into the wok first for a brief stir-fry, with the leaves added afterward, and it is ready to serve once just cooked through. Because the black beans and dace are already salty, use little or even no salt when seasoning, so the taste does not become too heavy.

Two common problems need attention: first, leaf lettuce releases water and softens if stir-fried too long, which ruins its crispness, so keep it over high heat and stir-fry quickly throughout, shortening the cooking time as much as possible; second, if the overall dish is too salty, add a little sugar to balance it and bring out the umami more. This dish goes well with rice or plain congee; master the heat and the saltiness, and you can easily make it taste great.