Tofu Lettuce Wraps

These days I love having meatless meals after my husband started eating plant-based. I’ve started to cook more vegan recipes at home to be supportive. I have to admit though, that I truly enjoy them myself.

Why plant-based

There are many benefits to cooking plant-based meals. For starters, dealing with produce and tofu is much less messy than preparing meat. The food is easier to digest so I feel less sleepy and my body feels lighter after eating a meal. Not to mention, when eating plant-based meals, I can eat how much I want and not worry about gaining weight.

Following a plant-based diet doesn’t mean you have to give up great flavor or texture. 

That’s why I came up with these tofu lettuce wraps. They’re my vegan version of a chicken lettuce wrap. You may have fallen in love with the one at PF Chang’s. Well, if you love that one, get ready to meet the new meatless love of your life with these tofu lettuce wraps!

The secret to making great vegan dishes is to use various ingredients that lend your meals an interesting and exciting texture. If you’re just getting into a plant-based diet or you simply want to lighten up on the amount of meat you eat, try making these tofu lettuce wraps. They will completely surprise you.

Tofu lettuce wrap ingredients

Inside the lettuce leaves, the tofu joins up with water chestnuts, mushrooms, and a rich peanut sauce. It’s bold, flavorful, and fun to eat. 

How to cut tofu

To take the texture to the next level, I cut the tofu into very small pieces, which I’ll show you below. Then, I fry them. Once the tofu is fried, it has this super-crunchy and crispy texture. You won’t find bland or boring tofu here!

Cooking process

1. Cook the tofu in a nonstick skillet with a generous amount of oil
2. The tofu will crisp up, shrink and turn golden. Flip and stir occasionally to fry all the sides
3. Add and cook the aromatics and the rest of the veggies
4. Pour in the sauce and mix well
5. Stir in the green part of the green onion
6. Assemble with lettuce leaves and serve with the rest of the sauce

Tofu lettuce wraps are great for a healthy appetizer if you have guests coming for dinner. They take no time to prepare and hold up really well.

Tofu lettuce wraps also work well for a light and healthy dinner. We love them because they’re so refreshing and they really do fill you up, just like any meaty dish would!

Tofu Lettuce Wraps

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 7 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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Try out this vegan meal that takes crunchy, crispy bite-sized pieces of fried tofu wrapped in lettuce with plenty of other textural elements that have all the flavor without any meat! {Vegan, Gluten-Free Adaptable}

To make this dish gluten-free, use tamari to replace the soy sauce.

Ingredients 

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 block firm tofu , cut into 1/3” (0.8cm) squares (*Footnote 1)
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 can (8-oz) water chestnuts , cut into 1/3” (0.8cm) pieces
• 2 green onions , sliced and green part separated
• 1 head iceberg lettuce , leaves separated
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts , crushed

Sauce

• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons unsalted natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (or chili garlic sauce)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic , grated
• 1/2 ” (1 cm) ginger , grated
• 2 tablespoons water

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Instructions

• Place the shiitake mushrooms in a small bowl and add hot water to cover completely. Let rehydrate for 15 minutes, or until the mushrooms turn soft throughout. Squeeze out the extra liquid and mince them into small pieces.
• Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well.
• Heat the peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced tofu and spread it out as much as possible. Cook without moving for 1 minute, or tunil the bottom turns pale yellow. Then use your spatula (a silicone spatula works great) to gently flip and separate the tofu. Cook until most of the sides turn golden and crispy, about 5 minutes.
• Move the tofu to one side of the pan. Add the water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, and green onion whites to the other side. Cook and stir on that side for 1 minute.
• Stir the tofu and vegetables together. Pour half of the sauce into the pan. Cook and stir for another 30 seconds to coat everything with the sauce.
• Add the reserved green onion greens and stir to mix. Transfer everything to a big plate.
• Add 2 tablespoons of water to the rest of the sauce and mix well.
• Serve the tofu filling along with the lettuce, peanuts, and reserved sauce. You can assemble the wraps by placing the tofu filling and peanuts on a piece of lettuce. Add more sauce if needed.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. It’s important to cut the tofu into very small squares, so it will crisp up a lot while cooking, which gives you a better texture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 313kcal, Carbohydrates: 34.9g, Protein: 8.4g, Fat: 16.4g, Saturated Fat: 2.7g, Sodium: 446mg, Potassium: 437mg, Fiber: 3.6g, Sugar: 5.9g, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 3mg

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More plant-based Chinese recipes

• Home Style Tofu (家常豆腐)
• Kung Pao Cauliflower (宫保菜花)
• Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
• General Tso Tofu (Crispy Tofu without Deep Frying)

Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.