Canned Dace with Lettuce (Dou Zhi Ling Yu You Mai Cai)
The beloved Cantonese canned-fish stir-fry: one can, one bunch of greens, five minutes.
The story
Canned fried dace with black beans is a Cantonese pantry legend — salty, umami, slightly smoky — and stir-frying it with crisp lettuce is the classic way Hong Kong families turn it into dinner. The can does all the seasoning work.
Ingredients (3 + pantry staples)
- Canned fried dace with black beans — 1 can (184 g)
- Lettuce or you mai cai — 1 head, in large pieces
- Garlic — 2 cloves, sliced
Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): cooking oil, sugar (pinch). Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.
Steps
- Stir-fry garlic in oil 20 seconds; add the whole can (oil, beans, fish) and break the fish into chunks.
- Lettuce in; toss 2 minutes until just wilted.
- Pinch of sugar, plate. Rice alongside.
Swaps
The can is 🔶 from an Asian grocery (Brix Ma Ling is the classic brand) — but one can unlocks five fast dinners. Any bitter green works: romaine, choy sum, cabbage.
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Blanched Greens with Oyster Sauce (Bai Zhuo)
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