This refreshing and delicious appetizer, celtuce leaves salad, features a rich sesame sauce that will have you happily eating your veggies! {Vegan, Gluten-Free adaptable}
As spring and summer approach, I can’t help but get excited about finding celtuce. I introduced it in my post about celtuce stir fry and included very detailed information on where to buy, what to avoid, and how to use celtuce. In this post, I want to share with you some more ways to use this healthy, nourishing, and delicious vegetable.
Eating seasonally is the best for us, for our immunity and health. We should go with what’s readily available, plus it’s fresher so it just tastes better.
Lettuce substitute
If you find celtuce at your local Asian market or the farmer’s market, you’ll want to keep the leaves, too. These leaves are even more nutritious than the stem that you’ll use for my celtuce stir fry. You can make this celtuce leaves salad for a change of pace.
Even people that love salads get tired of eating the same thing every time. Celtuce leaves salad will give you a new salad to look forward to each spring and summer when celtuce is available. The leaves are very tender, just like lettuce, but they have more flavor.
How to cook with celtuce leaves
I love eating them raw but the leaves are great cooked, too. You can:
- Add them into soups, such as egg drop soup, noodle soup, or miso soup.
- Make a very simple stir fry by sauteing the leaves in oil with a clove of minced garlic and a pinch of salt.
- Use the lettuce leaves to replace other Chinese greens when making fried noodles
TIP: Always add celtuce leaves at the end of the cooking because they cook quickly, just like spinach does.
And of course, you can use celtuce leaves to make a simple salad.
With this recipe for celtuce leaves salad, I’ve got a rich and delightful sesame sauce that you’re going to love. It’s so refreshing and makes an ideal first course for any meal. You’ll want this sesame sauce on everything, so get ready!
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Celtuce Leaves Salad (凉拌莴笋叶)
Ingredients
- 1 small batch celtuce leaves , cut into bite size pieces (yields about 4 cups)
- Toasted sesame seeds (for garnish) (Optional)
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste (or unsweetened natural peanut butter, or tahini)
- 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or sugar)
- 2 teaspoons homemade chili oil (Optional)
- 1 clove garlic , grated
Instructions
- To prepare the celtuce leaves, tear the leaves off the stem and rinse them thoroughly with cold tap water to remove any dirt. Once done, drain well and set aside to dry. If the leaves are still wet when you prepare the salad, pat them dry with paper towels. Cut the celtuce leaves into bite-sized pieces and place them on a serving plate.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Pour half of the sauce onto the celtuce.
- Serve the celtuce with the rest of the sauce. Drizzle more sauce if needed.
Nutrition
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
The sauce is wonderfully versatile.
Now I use it generally in green salads.
I have a ton of celtuce in my garden. I grew it without even knowing what it is! I stir fried some yesterday (delicious) and did this today. I actually blanched the leaves a bit – they seemed tough. This turned out great, though. Highly recommended! Great sauce/dressing.