Stir Fried Iceberg Lettuce

My grandma in general is not a fan of vegetables. She dislikes cabbage but loves kangkung a lot. Another vegetable that she is fond of is iceberg lettuce stir fried with garlic and salt. She loves it because the lettuce is very soft and easy on her palate when it is fried. When I was growing up, grandma used to fry lettuce quite often. Later on when I came to live in PJ, I noted that there is a similar vegetable dish - fried yau mak.

I decided to have a simple meatless meal after all the goodies I had during Chinese New Year. I thought stir fried lettuce and some taukwa (beancurds) would make a nice light meal. So, I fried a whole head of lettuce with one whole bulb of garlic and some salt. I love garlic and it may sound like a lot of lettuce but it cooks down considerably. I enjoyed the lettuce very much, it tasted very much like what my grandma used to cook.

Talking about childhood memories, I wouldn't be wrong to say that most of us (at least the over 40 age group) became interested in pop music when we were in our teens. At least that was how it was for me. My grandma's opposite neighbour's son was the source of my initial introduction to pop music. I never got to know the guy (never even set eyes on him, believe it or not) and he used to crank up his dad's hi-fi with songs from the late 70's and 80's. That was the era of Saturday Night Fever, you know the one where John Travolta strikes a pose while pointing his finger to the ceiling.

And I have a confession to make. At that time, I did enjoy sentimental songs. Looking back, some of them are quite sappy. One of the first songs that made an impression on me was All Out of Love by Air Supply. Not that I was in love or anything like that (I did have a crush on the late Andy Gibb, though) but I loved the melody. Up till today, I still go for melody and beat in a song. I don't really care what they sing about unless of course it's something really bad.

And that being the disco era, I liked upbeat (aka hot) songs like Funkytown by Lipps Inc (I still like it ***cringe***), Ring My Bell by Anita Ward (Riiiing my beeelll...eellll...eelll, ring my bell, ding dong, ding dong...) and of course Night Fever by The Bee Gees.

Kids these days start a lot earlier. I was quite taken aback when my little nephew was moo, moo, mooing away to Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger. I guess parents are quiet liberal now and in the internet age, kids get a lot more exposure compared to kids during my time.

When my mum was growing up, my grandpa was very strict. They were only allowed to listen to classical music, you know, the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Vivaldi. Don't ever mention Elvis or The Beatles or you'll get a lecture from grandpa. And my aunt (the one who taught me cooking) was made to cycle to town immediately to return a record she bought. It was the song Witch Doctor by David Seville (1958) that got her into trouble!

Once, grandpa took me to town to buy cassettes when he noticed that I liked listening to music. I was hoping to get the latest disco hits. But grandpa asked the record shop owner "You have old hits?". Alamak.........what a spoiler. I went home with two cassettes. I still remember one of the songs in there. One way ticket, one way ticket to the blues..............That's how I felt lah when I ended up with the greatest old hits.

And how on earth did I get into hard rock and heavy metal? Well, that will come up in another post. Just to give you a sneak peak, it all started in Assunta, PJ. Yeah, lots of stuff happen in a convent. I hope Sister Enda Ryan is reading this. Hee...hee.....

Stir Fried Iceberg Lettuce
Recipe Source : Phong Hong's Grandma

Ingredients :
- 1 head of lettuce
- 1 small bulb of garlic
- salt to taste

Method :
- Wash and drain lettuce leaves.
- Tear leaves into smaller pieces.
- Peel garlic by smashing it a little and leave whole.
- Heat oil in wok.
- Add garlic and some salt.
- Fry the garlic until it is just slightly brown.
- Throw in the lettuce leaves and stir fry until wilted.
- Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.