One of my friends is from Texas. He is convinced that sang choi bau is the perfect food because you could live on it alone, if you had to. He does have a point. The combination of richly sauced meat with crunchy nuts wrapped in a crisp, refreshing lettuce-leaf parcel is hard to beat.
Super Simple Sang Choi Bau
Ingredients
- 500 g ground minced beef
- 1 large handful roast cashews or macadamias
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes or fresh chilli peppers
- 4 tablespoons oyster sauce or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 8 leaves iceberg lettuce
Instructions
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Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan.
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Cook beef stirring frequently, until well browned and cooked through.
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Add chilli and oyster sauce (or soy) and 2 tablespoons water. Cook until everything is hot. Add cashews and macadamias.
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Taste and season.
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Serve hot beef in a bowl with lettuce leaves for wrapping on the side.
Variations
different meat – pork is commonly used but you could also make your sang choi bau form minced chicken or turkey.
vegan/vegetarian – replace the beef with canned or home cooked lentils or black beans and crumbled tofu and use a vegetarian ‘oyster’ sauce or hoisin sauce or soy sauce.
fish-free / no oyster sauce? – use a vegetarian ‘oyster’ sauce, hoisin sauce or sweet soy sauce. Or just good old soy sauce or coconut aminos.
budget – replace some or all of the meat with canned lentils.
carb lovers – serve with steamed rice, fried rice or cooked rice noodles on the side.
more veg – toss in cooked mushrooms and/or red bell peppers (capsicum).
Waste Avoidance Strategy
minced (ground) beef – freeze.
nuts / dried chilli flakes / oyster sauce – keep in the pantry.
iceberg lettuce – will keep in the fridge for a few weeks in a plastic bag. Otherwise use for another meal as it’s not great once frozen.
Prep Ahead Strategy
Just cook as per the recipe but keep the lettuce separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm in a pan with a little oil then serve with lettuce.