Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Spicy tofu lettuce wraps with a chili peanut sauce wrapped in Romaine lettuce with brown rice and great toppings like cilantro and nori chips!
Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Jump to RecipeHere’s a completely unproven statement about these spicy tofu lettuce wraps: Eating just one of them will add a week onto your life!
Seriously, if you were to eat just one of these a week you would live forever. You would break even on the week and could do no wrong after this lettuce wrap was consumed.
Or, if you’re like me, you’ll eat eight of these in one day which is like traveling back in time.
Are you following me here?
What I’m trying to say is that these are healthy bites of food, but they also pack a serious spicy punch thanks to a homemade spicy chili peanut sauce.
But, my favorite ingredient in these wraps? Wasabi seaweed chips. Crumbled up on top. Yep. You read that right and it’s not yet April Fool’s Day so you know I’m being serious.
Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra firm tofu pressed
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 2 cups brown rice cooked
- 1 package seaweed chips
- Sesame seeds garnish
- Cilantro garnish
- Lime wedges garnish
Spicy Peanut Sauce:
- ¼ cup Gojuchang chili paste
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Stir together sauce ingredients until smooth. For tofu, cut in half horizontally and then press tofu between some paper towels. Put something heavy on top and let it sit for 15 minutes to press out as much liquid as possible.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium baking dish, add neutral oil and pressed tofu slices. Smear each piece with some of the chili peanut butter sauce. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Flip tofu, smear with more sauce, and bake for another 20-25 minutes until edges of tofu are slightly crispy. Remove tofu and cube.
- Cook rice using your favorite method, fluff with a fork and set aside.
- Wash and dry lettuce well. Cut off any thick stems.
- Make lettuce wraps by piling some rice in each leaf, then a few tofu cubes, a drizzle of sauce, crunched up seaweed chips, and any other garnishes you would like. Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Snap a photo and tag @macheesmo so I can see your work.
Talking Tofu
We’ve discussed tofu a lot over the years, but let’s review probably the most important step if you’re going to have success cooking it: You need to press out some of the liquid! After all, most tofu comes submerged in a brine and it’ll be tough to move it from it’s soggy nature without getting rid of some of the moisture.
I recommend cutting the tofu in half horizontally and then pressing the slices between a few paper towels. Add some weight to the top and press the tofu for at least 15 minutes.
Spicy Peanut Sauce
I used the sauce for two things in this recipe. First, as a glaze for the tofu, but also there should be enough leftover to drizzle on each lettuce wrap.
I like gojuchang, a Korean chili paste, but if you can’t find that you can just use chili garlic sauce (but cut the amount down to two tablespoons).
Stirring everything together and you’ll have a nice, bright sauce. I love the color on this!
- Need a different tofu idea? Check out this interesting Tofu Mac and Cheese!
Baking the Tofu
You could pan sear this tofu if you were in a hurry, but I like to slowly bake mine with some of the sauce smeared on it. This gives the tofu a nice texture and gives the sauce a chance to work in.
You’ll want to bake it for about 20 minutes per side at 375 degrees F. Also, be sure to add some neutral oil to your baking dish before putting in the tofu so it doesn’t stick.
The finished tofu might not look as appetizing but it has great flavor.
Making the Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps
I like a lot of bright flavors for garnishes on these. Stuff like lime juice and cilantro are always good ideas in lettuce wraps.
But let’s talk about those seaweed chips!
These are becoming really popular and even my normal grocery store carries them. They come in little boxes and have various flavors. I love them because they are really thin and super-crispy.
They add a little salty crunch to the wraps.
The wraps would be a bit empty with just the tofu so I recommend piling in some rice also. If you have some DIY instant rice, that works perfectly or you can make a fresh batch.
Pile the rice and tofu cubes in some washed and dried lettuce and then drizzle on some extra sauce. The sauce packs a punch. That’s your warning!
But yea… these are really good. Even if they don’t add years onto your life, they are worth making.
And also, let’s talk about how I want to put spicy seaweed chips on everything now.
Great recipe! Does the tofu get as firm with the baking on two sides as it does with the pan method? Looking for a more efficient way to prep tofu.
It’s not quite as crispy as if you really fry it Sheebani, but I think it actually ends up being firmer in general because more of the water is cooked out, if that makes sense. It’s kind of just a different texture, but if you are just looking for crispy then you would be better off frying for sure. Good luck!
Every time I try to weight down my tofu to squeeze out the liquid, I always end up with very smooshed and very dry tofu or still too soggy tofu. Any tips on how to get it just right?
Haha. yea… that can happen. I would say press it with lighter weight for longer. I usually just fill a small bowl with water (maybe it’s 2-3 pounds of weight) and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. That usually does the trick! Good luck!
Oh also… make sure you are starting with extra firm tofu. If you use another texture, it’ll probably smoosh more because it won’t start as firm.
What I usually do is get extra firm tofu, cut the block in half and press it for 15-20 mins like Nick shows above, and then freeze it. When you are ready to cook a dinner with it, boil it in water for 10-15 mins and then crisp it in a pan like you normally would. Obviously this is a lot more steps but if you plan ahead and get a few packages it really helps to get the moisture out and it cooks up better.
Any idea as to a substitute for those of us who can’t have soy? I have a huge problem with phytoestrogens so any soy, flax etc is a big no no for me.
Hey Caroline! If you like fish sauce you could use that but maybe use a tad less. Also something like tamarind paste would be interesting… You just something a little salty and tangy if that makes sense. At a minimum, you could literally just add a pinch of salt. ;)
Hey Nick;
I suspect Caroline was asking for a tofu substitute? Lots of people can’t tolerate tofu. Just a thought :-)
These look delicious! If anyone is planning to make these for someone gluten free based on the tag, though, regular soy sauce usually contains wheat. You have to use a tamari soy sauce, or one labelled gluten free.
Great reminder Brooke. Thanks!
Is there something I can use as a substitute for the peanut butter? Maybe Nutella, or can I leave it out all together? My dad’s allergic to peanuts.
I wouldn’t use Nutella… that’s a bit too sweet. Something like almond butter would be great though and is pretty easily available these days!
Recently I have started making tofu dishes. My problem is its blandness. Many recipes say to marinate up to 3 days which is ok. I am going to try this recipe but want to know if the tofu could sit overnight in the sauce. Also, my store has an extra,extra firm tofu (not the real name) that has little water which I really liked. Its texture is similar to paneer. Thanks for the recipe.
Heya! I feel you on the blandness. I don’t think you’ll have that problem with these b/c the sauce is so good. You could definitely let the tofu marinate in the sauce for a day or so. If you need/want to press your tofu, just make sure to do it before you marinate it! Good luck and report back! :)