Last night I made the Wilted Lettuce and Mushrooms recipe from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. It’s another in the congee section of the book.
Straightforward ingredients for this dish. Cooking lettuce is unusual for me, but Kenji reassures, “Simple lettuces like iceberg and romaine achieve a unique moist yet crunchy texture with a more concentrated flavor than raw lettuce has.”
The process is the same as the previous congee recipes, most similar to the Cheesy Congee with Bacon, Charred Corn, Scallions, and Cilantro where the congee is made in one pot and ingredients are cooked in a wok and then added to the congee. For this dish, the mushrooms are stir-fried with garlic, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce.
A surprising entire head of romaine, cut into ribbons, is added to the congee and stirred until wilted. I served this without a side salad because of the volume of lettuce already in the dish.
I thought this congee was fine. I think a bit of spice would have helped it out. Megan also thought it was fine. Neither of the kids tried it.
After dinner, Megan provided a ranking of the congees we’ve tried so far. This one is second-to-last.
- Thai-Style Jok with Pork Meatballs
- Cheesy Congee with Bacon, Charred Corn, Scallions, and Cilantro
- Congee with Wilted Lettuce and Mushrooms
- Basic Congee (with “The Mix”)
I doubt I’ll make this one again.
I am cooking my way through J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Wok cookbook. Read more about it.