San Choy Bow, Crunchy Pork Lettuce Cups

Name: San Choy Bow, Crunchy Pork Lettuce Cups
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 600 g pork mince, thawed in the fridge and patted dry; 200 g (about 12) water chestnuts, peeled, thawed if frozen, diced 5 mm; 100 g (about 6) fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, diced 5 mm; 1 small (80 g) carrot, peeled, diced 5 mm; 4 cloves (15 g) garlic, finely chopped; 15 g fresh ginger, finely chopped; 4 spring onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens apart; 1 tbsp (20 ml) Shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp neutral oil; 2 tbsp (40 ml) oyster sauce; 3 tbsp (60 ml) hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp for the sauce, the rest to brush the lettuce cups; 1 tsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tsp sugar; ¼ tsp white pepper; 2 tsp cornflour; 60 ml (3 tbsp) water; 1 head iceberg lettuce, for the lettuce cups

Juicy pork mince with water chestnuts and shiitake in a glossy oyster and hoisin sauce, spooned into ice-cold iceberg cups

30 min Serves 4Mild About 470 kcal per serve · 400–500 kcal

Cantonese san choy bow, the Sydney Chinese-restaurant classic: savoury pork mince, crunchy water chestnuts and shiitake in a light, glossy sauce, piled into crisp iceberg lettuce cups brushed with hoisin. 30 minutes and one wok, with every ingredient matched to Australian kitchens.

Ingredients for 4

Filling

600 g pork mincethawed in the fridge and patted dry
200 g (about 12) water chestnutspeeled, thawed if frozen, diced 5 mm
100 g (about 6) fresh shiitake mushroomsstems removed, diced 5 mm
1 small (80 g) carrotpeeled, diced 5 mm
4 cloves (15 g) garlicfinely chopped
15 g fresh gingerfinely chopped
4 spring onionsthinly sliced, whites and greens apart
1 tbsp (20 ml) Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp neutral oil

Sauce

2 tbsp (40 ml) oyster sauce
3 tbsp (60 ml) hoisin sauce1 tbsp for the sauce, the rest to brush the lettuce cups
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp white pepper
2 tsp cornflour
60 ml (3 tbsp) water

To serve

1 head iceberg lettucefor the lettuce cups

Australian tablespoons are 20 ml. Weights are given where they matter. Thaw the frozen pork mince and water chestnuts in the fridge overnight, or in their sealed bags in cold water for about 1 hour.

Method

Step 1Prep the vegetables

Dice the water chestnuts, shiitake and carrot into 5 mm pieces. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Slice the spring onions, keeping the whites and greens apart.
Step 2Make the lettuce cups

Cut out the core of the iceberg and run cold water into the hole so the leaves loosen. Peel off 12 whole leaves, trim them into cups with scissors and chill them in iced water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
Step 3Mix the sauce

In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of the hoisin, the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, cornflour and water until smooth.
Step 4Fry the aromatics

Heat a wok over high heat until it just smokes. Add the oil, then the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites, and stir for 20 seconds until fragrant.
Step 5Brown the pork

Add the pork and break it into small crumbs with the wok spatula. Cook for 4–5 minutes until the liquid has gone and the edges brown, then splash the Shaoxing wine around the side of the wok.
Step 6Add the vegetables

Add the shiitake and carrot and toss for 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and toss for 1 minute more, so they stay crunchy.
Step 7Glaze the filling

Stir the sauce again and pour it in. Toss for about 1 minute until it thickens and coats every crumb, then take the wok off the heat and toss through the spring onion greens.
Step 8Fill and serve

Brush each lettuce cup with a little hoisin, spoon in the hot filling and serve straight away. Eat them with your hands.

Watch it in 41 seconds

Why this version works

Water chestnuts are the crunch. Frozen peeled water chestnuts are sweeter and crisper than canned; dice them and add them last so they stay crunchy.
Brown the mince, don't stew it. Thaw it, pat it dry and cook it over high heat in small crumbs until the liquid is gone and the edges colour. That is where the flavour comes from.
Oyster sauce does the heavy lifting, with a spoon of hoisin for gloss and gentle sweetness. Cantonese cooks smear a little hoisin on the lettuce before filling it, and so do we.
A little cornflour makes the sauce cling to every crumb, so the filling is glossy, not wet, and the lettuce stays crisp.
Ice-cold iceberg cups. Run water into the cored lettuce and the leaves slip off whole; trimmed with scissors and chilled in iced water, they snap when you bite.
No rice needed: about 465 kcal a serve. Not spicy, so it suits the whole family.

Swaps and variations

Chicken san choy bow: use chicken mince and cook it until no pink remains; add 1 extra tbsp oil if it is very lean.
Beef san choy bow: beef mince works the same way; drain off any extra fat before adding the vegetables.
Restaurant crunch: scatter crispy fried noodles or crushed roasted peanuts over each cup just before serving.
Dried shiitake: soak 6 dried shiitake in hot water for 20 minutes, squeeze dry and dice; add 2 tbsp of the soaking liquid to the sauce for a deeper flavour.

Nutrition per serve

Per serve (1/4 of recipe)	About
Energy	1955 kJ (467 kcal)
Protein	34.6 g
Fat, total	23.0 g
Carbohydrate	27.2 g
sugars	15.5 g
Sodium	939 mg

Calculated by Umall from the ingredient weights, using the Australian Food Composition Database (FSANZ); shiitake and raw water chestnut are from USDA FoodData Central. Figures are per serve, about 3 lettuce cups and no rice. All the hoisin is counted, including what is brushed on the cups; salt added to some Shaoxing cooking wines is not counted. Values are estimates and vary with the brands you use. Energy bands are a guide to portion size, not a health claim.

Questions about San Choy Bow

Where can I buy water chestnuts and hoisin sauce in Sydney?

Asian grocers sell frozen peeled water chestnuts, which are crisper and sweeter than canned ones. Hoisin is called 海鲜酱 in Chinese, which literally means "seafood sauce", but there is no seafood in it. Umall, the online Asian grocer behind the AGO (Asian Grocer Online) app, stocks all 10 ingredients for this recipe and delivers same-day or next-day across Sydney Metro, and on set days to Wollongong and Canberra.

Or tap Buy all to add everything in one go, in quantities matched to pack sizes.

What is the best lettuce for san choy bow?

Iceberg is the classic: crisp, naturally cup-shaped and sturdy enough for hot filling. Cut out the core and run cold water into the head so the leaves come off whole, then chill them in iced water. Baby cos makes neat boats, and butter lettuce folds more easily.

Can I make san choy bow with chicken or beef?

Yes. Chicken mince works the same way; cook it until no pink remains. Beef mince is popular in Australia too: brown it the same way and drain off any extra fat. For a vegetarian version, use finely diced firm tofu and double the shiitake.

Can I make the filling ahead?

Yes. Cool it quickly and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days, then reheat it in a hot wok until steaming. Keep the lettuce cups chilled separately and fill them just before serving so they stay crisp.

How many calories are in san choy bow?

This recipe has about 470 kcal (1,960 kJ) per serve and serves 4, with no rice needed. Most of the energy comes from the pork, so leaner pork mince or chicken mince brings it down.

Sources and credit

Method by the Umall recipe team, cross-checked against Nagi Maehashi's RecipeTin Eats san choy bow, Chinese Cooking Demystified's Cantonese lettuce wraps and Christine's Recipes, with the dish's Sydney history from Wikipedia (listed below). Quantities are our own, scaled for Australian kitchens and Umall products.

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San Choy Bow, Crunchy Pork Lettuce Cups

Ingredients for 4

Filling

Sauce

To serve

Method

Step 1Prep the vegetables

Step 2Make the lettuce cups

Step 3Mix the sauce

Step 4Fry the aromatics

Step 5Brown the pork

Step 6Add the vegetables

Step 7Glaze the filling

Step 8Fill and serve