This item
Indian Lettuce
- Long narrow upright leaves
- No compact cabbage head
- Light-green blades with pale midribs
Vegetables
Indian Lettuce
An upright loose-headed leafy vegetable with long narrow light-green leaves and pale midribs.
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3 identity clues
- Long narrow upright leaves
- No compact cabbage head
- Light-green blades with pale midribs
Names in other languages
- 繁體中文
- 油麥菜
- English
- Indian Lettuce
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Siomak / Indian Lettuce (油麥菜)
- Tagalog
- Indian Lettuce (油麥菜)
Name in Cantonese (Jyutping): jau4 maak6 coi3 No Cantonese voice on this device
What is it?
Indian lettuce is the official Hong Kong market English name for 油麥菜. It is not Napa cabbage or a generic Chinese cabbage.
How to identify it
Look for narrow elongated leaves rising loosely from the base, light-green blades and pale midribs; it does not form a compact head.
Common confusion
Compare
Napa Cabbage
- Tight elongated cabbage head
- Crinkled pale-green leaves
- Broad thick white ribs
Compare
Chinese Lettuce
- A loose-headed Chinese lettuce with tender green leaves and long pale-green ribs.
- Look for an upright but open head, long pale-green midribs and soft green leaf blades.
- Chinese lettuce is loose-headed; iceberg lettuce forms a dense round head.
How to identify it
Indian lettuce is loose-headed and narrow-leaved; Napa cabbage is a compact headed vegetable.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Commonly stir-fried quickly with garlic, blanched or added to noodle soup.
Choosing & preparing
Separate leaves, wash each under running water, trim the old base and cut into sections as needed.
Storage
Keep unwashed and dry in the refrigerator crisper and use soon.
Helper tip
Indian lettuce is loose with long narrow leaves; Napa cabbage forms a compact elongated head with broad white ribs.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買一斤油麥菜，今晚蒜蓉炒。The employer wants about one catty of Indian lettuce for a garlic stir-fry tonight.
Useful market phrase
唔該要一斤嫩油麥菜。Meaning: One catty (斤) of tender Indian Lettuce, please.
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