1 pound Chinese lettuce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
Few drops Tabasco hot sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1. Separate lettuce leaves. Parboil to soften slightly (2 to 3 minutes).
2. Roll each leaf up tightly; then cut in 1-inch sections. (If leaves are wide and unwieldy, cut in half lengthwise first.) Place in a shallow bowl.
3. Combine sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and Tabasco Sauce. Heat oil. Add sugar-vinegar mixture, stirring quickly to dissolve sugar. Pour over lettuce at once.
4. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature. Then refrigerate, covered, overnight.
VARIATION:
* For the Chinese lettuce, substitute round white cabbage.