Serendipity wrote:
> I bought this by mistake or rather the grocery store mislabelling.
> Anyway, I now have a head of chinese lettuce and don't know how to
use
> it. I tried google and askjeeves. Do you use it like regular
letuce?

I grew this two seasons ago, but didnt know quite this much info...
will look for it again this coming season. It's a wonderful vegetable
and grows like a weed.

http://www.innvista.com/health/foods...es/lettuce.htm

Chinese Lettuce, Celtuce, Stem Lettuce, Asparagus Lettuce
woh sun (Chinese)
(Lactuca sativa var. augustana -- Family Compositae)

"The name "celtuce" is a combination of celery and lettuce and given
because of its shape, and not because it is a cross between them. A
little known specialty in Europe, it is very closely related to wild
lettuce (L. serriola). The stems can be eaten raw or cooked, with the
tender young leaves used for salad. This type of lettuce is grown
mainly for its thickened fleshy stem which provides an asparagus-like
vegetable. The stems, which can be an inch or two thick, can grow to
lengths of four feet. They are then harvested in the summer or early
fall. Although it has little nutritional value, this lettuce does make
a good addition to any fresh salad; and the Chinese snap it up when it
appears in Western markets. Grown for centuries in China, it is a race
of lettuce prized, not necessarily for the leaves, but rather the
thick, juicy stems. It is also an ornamental vegetable. Most of China's
crop goes into Shanghai pickles, called "lettuce pickles" in Chinese
groceries. This type of lettuce has been listed in European seed
catalogues since 1885, and the name "celtuce" was adopted by an
American seed company (Burpee), who first offered the seed in 1942. The
seed had been sent to them in 1938 by a missionary in Western China
near the Tibetan border. If planted with chervil and dill, aphids will
not be a problem. It also does well planted between such slower-growing
crops as cauliflower, self-blanching celery, or Chinese chives. This
lettuce is excellent raw and cooked lightly in stir fry. Young leaves
can be cooked as greens.Zulu is a new variety, having narrow
dull-textured leaves, that is ideal for cooler climates. Other
varieties are sold in seed mixes of broad, dull, glossy, or red leaved
types."
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Image: http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seed_068-162.html

Sheldon