Lettuce and broccoli Chinese style stir fry with black rice

 Our first recipe ever is a yummy lettuce and broccoli stir fry on a bed of black rice. This is a spicy dish based of the traditional Chinese lettuce stir fry recipe. We’ve jazzed it up a bit by adding broccoli and ground cashews. The black rice is not traditionally eaten with lettuce stir fry but we find it faboo and I’m sure you’ll agree!

As the iceburg lettuce lacks much nutritional value the broccoli, cashews and black rice are a delicious way of getting your daily lot of vitamins into you.

Black rice was so prized in ancient China that it became known as ‘forbidden rice’ as the nobles kept every last bit of it, forbidding commoners to eat it. It’s high in antioxidants, fiber and vitamin E, and has a chewy texture that complements the lettuce’s lack of bite.

We use extra hot chilli powder in this recipe but if you don’t like spice too much just dial it down a bit.

Ingredients:

·                        1 head iceburg lettuce

·                        1 small head of broccoli

·                        2 teaspoons soy sauce

·                        1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

·                        3/4 teaspoon brown  sugar

·                        1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

·                        2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

·                        1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger

·                        1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon dried hot crushed chilli 

·                        1/2 teaspoon salt

·                        1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil (such as Kadoya)

·                        2 handfuls ground cashews

Preparation:

Tip: Black rice takes longer to cook than white rice so allow more time as the stir fry is quite quick. To speed up the process soan and then rinse the black rice beforehand.

1.      Add a cup of black rice to 2 cups of water (use 2 cups of water with every 1 cup of rice). Generally it takes about 30 to 40 minutes but we just take it off the heat when it’s done. Some say unsoaked black rice takes longer – we never soak it and never cook it for longer.

2.      Wash the lettuce, drain and separate the leaves. Make sure the lettuce’s super dry. Cut or rip the leaves into pieces about 2 centimetres or so wide.

3.      Combine the rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, stirring. Set aside.

4.      Grab 2 handfuls of cashews and grind in a mortar and pestle. Don’t grind to a powder, keep it a bit chunky to add some crunch.

5.       Heat a wok or frying pan on medium-high heat and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground cashews garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry until aromatic (5 - 10 seconds) and add the lettuce. Stir-fry the lettuce, adding a bit of salt. Once the lettuce has reduced in size a bit add the lettuce. Stir fry for about 1 - 2 minutes, until the lettuce leaves begin to wilt and the broccoli is hot.

6.      Give the sauce a quick mix and stir it into the wok or pan. Stir-fry for 1 - 2 more minutes, until the lettuce turns dark green. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Serve over black rice immediately.

Stay tuned for some more delicious recipes including vegan ice cream, Indian Chana Masala, a Sri Lankan lotus root curry, empanadas and a fresh basil pesto on buckwheat pasta. 

We'll post photos when possible. 

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