Lettuce Wraps (Sang Choi Bao)

Why people make this dish

Bro Niu once enjoyed a memorable lettuce wrap at a well-known restaurant — scallops, chicken and pine nuts in a special sauce, folded into a lettuce leaf, wonderfully savory. Back home he recreated it with an even richer filling: besides scallops, he added diced reconstituted sea cucumber, winter bamboo shoot, organic enoki and pine nuts. The result is fresh, crisp and full of flavor — a fun dish to assemble at the table.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Suits anyone who enjoys a light, savory, hands-on appetizer
• Generous, flexible recipe — adapt to taste; no special cautions

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Scallops (dai zi): lend a sweet, savory depth to the filling
• Sea cucumber (hai shen): gelatin-rich; adds soft texture and richness
• Pine nuts (song zi ren): toasted golden for fragrance and crunch
• Lettuce (sheng cai): the crisp, cool wrapper that balances the warm, savory filling

Ingredients (2–3 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Frozen scallops	~115 g	diced, blanched
Reconstituted sea cucumber	half a piece	diced
Chicken thigh meat	~75 g	diced
Winter bamboo shoot	half	diced, blanched
Organic enoki mushrooms	~37.5 g	diced
Pine nuts	~75 g	fried golden, drained
Minced shallot + ginger	to taste	—
Iceberg lettuce leaves	several	washed, drained
Seasoning + cooking wine	to taste	—

Method

1. Dice all the filling ingredients. Blanch the scallops and the bamboo shoot.
2. Fry the pine nuts in oil until golden; drain and set aside.
3. Heat oil and fry the minced shallot and ginger until fragrant; add the chicken and stir-fry, then add sea cucumber, bamboo shoot and enoki in turn.
4. Add the scallops, splash in the cooking wine, season, and finally scatter in the pine nuts. Plate up and serve with washed, drained lettuce leaves for wrapping.

Bro Niu’s tips

The filling is flexible — use more or fewer ingredients as you like; the key is that it be fragrant. Instead of scallops, dried oysters or diced shiitake also make a very tasty filling.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (AMY): Which sauces should I use for seasoning? Bro Niu: Season to your own taste. I usually use plain oil with a little sugar, white pepper and oyster sauce to lift the flavor; a touch of sesame oil makes it even better.

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Published January 15, 2011 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.