Vietnamese Tofu Lettuce Cups

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Recently I came across a recipe in one of my cookbooks for Vietnamese Pork and LettuceCups that looked incredible. As per usual, the first thing I did was thinkabout how I could turn this scrumptious looking dish into something vegetarianfriendly. The usual ideas popped into my head, i.e. using mushrooms or eggplant inplace of the meat, but I’ve been wanting to try tofu for a while now anddecided that this would be the perfect opportunity.
Although I’ve had tofu plenty of times, I’ve never actuallycooked with it myself. To be honest, I was a little unsure about how it wouldturn out and, specifically, whether or not it would mimic the crumbly textureof ground pork, but a quick internet search regarding how to cook tofu gave methe extra boost I needed to give it a shot.
The end result was surprisingly good, and although thetexture of the cooked tofu did not quite match what I saw in the originalrecipe, it was nevertheless tasty. Fresh bell peppers, carrots, and peanuts addeda punch of color, gave the dish the crunch it needed, and also served to keepeverything together in the lettuce cups. The peanuts and bell peppers were notin the original recipe, but paired well with the ginger and garlic and gave thedish a little oomph! I will definitely be trying this one again soon.

Getting Started

Start by preparing all of the ingredients. Cooking time isreally quick, and you don’t want anything to burn while you’re measuring,dicing, etc. A note about grating the ginger - if it feels tough at first, try turning it. It seems to have a grain to it that you can work with. And don't forget to peel it!
Once you have everything chopped, measured, and at theready, sauté the shallots, ginger, and garlic in the oil over medium heat for about aminute. Add in the tofu and cook for approximately 5 minutes, breaking it apartso that it starts to have more of a crumbly texture. Mix in the peanuts and soysauce and continue cooking until everything is heated through and the tofu iscrumbly. You want the tofu to dry out a little bit, so keep that in mind.
Once your tofu mixture is the right consistency, take it offthe heat and divide evenly among four lettuce cups. Top with carrots, bellpeppers, and scallions, and enjoy!

Wrapping it Up

This recipe works great as part of a larger meal, or even as an appetizer (on it's own it might leave you a little hungry). We paired ours with our favorite store-bought veggie spring rolls, but rice would also be a great addition.

I was really surprised by how well this recipe turned out. I’vetried making Asian inspired dishes in the past and the end result is never quite what I imagined or hoped for...awful might be a word used to describe them. I think partly because I’ve used prepackaged sauces and seasoningpackets that don’t give an authentic taste and freshness. Using all fresh ingredients, and especially using fresh ginger, definitely made a difference here.
Overall I liked using the tofu; it was much easier than I expected and really picked up all the flavors. In the future I might try adding chile peppers to give it some heat, and I know I won't be able to resist throwing some mushrooms in there!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and let me know if you giveit a try!
Ingredients
2 Tbs shallots, minced2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated2 garlic cloves, minced1 Tbs low sodium soy sauce2 Tbs roasted peanuts12 oz (approx) extra firm tofu – drainedCarrots, thinly sliced (I just used my vegetable peeler for this)Red bell pepper, thinly sliced2 tsp canola or light olive oil for cookingScallions, diced
4 butter lettuce leaves, rinsed
Servings: 2
 


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