^^Insert standard kitchen corner self-portrait here :)
When it comes to me and tofu, I love to order tofu-based meals when eating out but whenever I try to recreate the same dishes at home… Major fail.
The recipe I’m sharing today marks the first success I ever had with cooking tofu since transitioning from a meat to seafood/plant-based diet.
Tofu Lettuce Wraps with a Creamy Peanut Sauce
I knew the recipe was a keeper when Charles took his first bite and said with a mouth full of food “This tofu is tasty as phuck.” It’s a super simple meal you can eat for lunch or dinner that takes about 25-30 minutes to make, including prep time.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Ingredients
– Spring Roll Sauce, fish or veggie based. The fish based sauce has a distinct fishy smell which I don’t mind. But if you’re not a fan of fishy smells, go for the veggie based spring roll sauce.
– Rice Vinegar, or cider vinegar.
– Sesame Oil, you can also use a light olive or canola oil as a replacement.
– Soy Sauce, low sodium preferred.
– Sriracha, or any kind of chili paste will do.
– Peanut Butter, creamy not chunky.
– Sugar, I’ve made this with brown sugar and white sugar on different occasions and they both work fine.
– Tofu, firm or extra firm depending on your preference.
– Shredded Carrots, I like to get one carrot from the store and shred it myself. It’s much cheaper and less wasteful than to buy a pre-shredded packet.
– Lettuce, regular lettuce works fine but, if your store has it in stock, I prefer butter lettuce. They’re the perfect size and crunch for wraps.
– Bean Sprouts, a handful is enough for 2 people.
– 2 Peeled Cloves of Garlic, can you find the garlic in the photo above?
– Jasmine Rice, one cup of rice uncooked is enough for 2 people.
*** If you’re not able to find the bean sprouts, spring roll sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, or sriracha sauce at your regular grocery store, you should be able to find these ingredients at an Asian grocery store or H-mart near you.
Prep
First things first, put the rice to cook so it’s ready by the time you’re done prepping and cooking everything else. We have a lil rice cooker that makes it super easy to make. Simply add 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water in the pot, hit the “cook” button and let it do its thing.
After that, rinse the lettuce and bean sprouts. For the bean sprouts, make sure to pick all the green shells out.
Now to drain the tofu.
Grab two plates and a few sheets of paper towels. Place the tofu on the plate and paper towels like the photo above ^^ and press down to drain all the water out of it.
After that, cut up the tofu into small square pieces and set it aside in a bowl.
Peanut Sauce
Now that we’ve got the veggies and tofu all prepped, it’s time to make the peanut sauce. Below is the measurement breakdown:
– 1/2 cup peanut butter
– 1/3 cup soy sauce
– 1/3 cup sesame oil
– 1/4 cup rice vinegar
– 2 tablespoons sriracha – this adds a kick to the sauce so if you’re not a “spicy” person, try it with just 1 tablespoon.
– 2 tablespoons sugar
Throw all these ingredients into a blender or food processor + the 2 peeled cloves of garlic and blend the sauce until it has a smooth consistency.
Pour it into a small bowl and set aside.
Back to the tofu…
Turn on the stove to medium high and heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan for a minute or two. Wet your hand with water and flick it to the pan. If the oil sizzles from the water droplets, that means it’s ready for you to start frying.
Dump the tofu into the pan and stir-fry for about 15 minutes, turning it over every couple of minutes until it’s golden brown.
** Because tofu is kind of delicate, let it cook in the pan for a while when you first drop it in before you start turning it over. This allows it to create a crust so it won’t break apart into crumbly pieces.
I like to use a fork (instead of a spatula) to turn the pieces over one by one so I can make sure all sides of the tofu are crispy.
^^ Charles hard at work, studying for his PMP certification exam, while I was cooking and snapping photos for today’s post.
While the tofu’s frying, wash the blender, put away all condiments except for the spring roll sauce (then turn over the tofu) and clear/ set the dining table (turn over the tofu again).
Once it’s crispy and golden, turn the heat from high to medium-low, and pour 3/4 of the peanut sauce over the tofu.
Stir-fry the sauce and tofu together for another 3-5 minutes.
As the sauce browns and cooks down, it will form a crispy crust around the tofu which adds a nice texture.
And that’s that. Tofu is done.
Now we’re ready to eat.
When putting a lettuce wrap together, I tend to start with adding rice first, then the tofu, followed by the carrots and bean sprouts.
Then I add a spoonful of the leftover peanut sauce top annnnnnd…
^^ Pour the spring roll sauce on top. The spring roll sauce helps to balance out the peanut sauce with a nice touch of tang.
Et Voila! A great meal that’s savory in taste but not too heavy on the tummy.
Tofu lettuce wrap recipe was doctored from this recipe on Pinch of Yum that originally had the wraps put together with just lettuce, tofu and brown rice noodles for an additional topping. No mention of any other toppings.
I tried it the first time with the noodles and while I get that the Pinch of Yum team was going for “noodle stir-fry meets lettuce wraps” but it just didn’t work for me.
So the second time around, I added more traditional Asian toppings (rice, carrots and bean sprouts) and the spring roll sauce and it was sooooooo much better.
Ultimately, the creamy peanut sauce is what really makes the fried tofu pop. It’s a great asian sauce staple that I’m thinking of using again for a shrimp stir-fry with pad thai noodles <– Will definitely share the results of that experiment when I get around to trying it out.
Do you like tofu?
If not, I suggest giving this recipe a try because it might just make you a tofu believer like me and Charles.
xo, Setarra
P.S. Check out my last recipe post HERE
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