Stir-Fried Iceberg Lettuce

Iceberg lettuce isn't just for eating raw in salads. As novelist Lang Samantha Chang's family recipe demonstrates, iceberg's pale, crisp leaves also take beautifully to stir-frying.

Raised wholly on authentic northern Chinese dishes, Chang's parents moved from China to the Upper Midwest in 1965. Hundreds of miles from the nearest Asian grocery store, her mother had to get creative with the American supermarket produce of the day—which, at the time, in the small town of Appleton, Wisconsin, meant lots of iceberg lettuce, which was like nothing she'd ever tried before. Instead of using it to make salad, Chang's mother tried stir-frying it. The result was surprisingly delicate, crisp and fresh. Many decades later, when greens traditional to Chinese cooking like bok choy are easier to get, the Chan family still loves this stir-fried iceberg recipe.

Cooked for just a few minutes in a hot wok, the crisp, mild leaves of iceberg lettuce are utterly transformed, shrinking in volume and turning semi translucent and tender in texture. Finished in the wok with a simple mix of soy sauce, a touch of sugar, and plenty of fresh ginger, the barely-cooked greens take on a slightly sweet flavor, and can be served in their cooking liquid, which makes a perfect sauce for spooning over a bowl of white rice.