Tuesday
Aug092011
clean the fridge lettuce wraps
August 9, 2011
After seeing yesterday evening’s post, I’m sure you were curious what my plan was for the plethora of vegetables that are now in my kitchen.
Answer. No idea!
Amidst all my errand running + phone calls, I had no plan of what to cook this week.
No.Plan.
What to do with a surplus of veggies? Seriously, I could open up a little farmers market booth with the stock I currently have.
Also in the fridge? Nasoya Sprouted Organic Tofu – a new find! My stomach only seems to like sprouted tofu, and up until now I’ve been buying the brand Wildwood. I spotted the Nasoya tofu at Whole Foods the other day and also noticed there was a $1.25 coupon in the latest WF flyer. It was $2.99 pre-coupon. I can buy the Wildwood for $2.15, but while this coupon is around, I’ll be using the Nasoya. Gotta’ get the deals while you can!
While I was thinking about what to make, I prepped the tofu + pressed it with LOVE. ;)
The head of napa cabbage must have weighed 4lbs. No joke. Definitely usable for more than one meal and it’s actually an ingredient I’ve never cooked with before. I headed to twitter and asked what I should make. Everyone was pointing me in the direction of stir fry, lettuce wraps, Asian slaw, etc.
I decided on making tofu lettuce wraps with tons of veg.
Literally, tons.
I sliced my veggies matchstick style, but chop however you like! [In that video they cut the skins off of the zucchini, but I leave them on]
I’m not a big fan of large pieces of zucchini, because the center is always wet/mushy. Cutting them matchstick style prevents this from happening.
Then I closed my eyes, threw a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, whisked them together + gave it a taste.
Better than expected.
In fact, quite delicious!
This meal could most definitely be eaten raw, but I wanted to give it a quick stir fry.
Check out my tutorial on how to grill tofu. The key is greasing the grates! No sticking + perfectly cooked tofu every time.
On the side, I had a pile of brown rice noodles, topped with chopped peanuts. [Annie Chun’s Maifun Brown Rice Noodles – SO very good] The noodles were added the to my wraps, for some extra chewy fun.
I not only used the cabbage IN the veggie mix, I used them to wrap everything up as well!
Tofu + Veggie Lettuce Wraps [serves 4] gluten free + vegan
Dressing:
Veggie Mix:
Tofu + Noodles:
*If you don't have Bragg’s, you can sub soy sauce.
Okay, I know there are a lot of steps, but I assure you it’s not a difficult recipe to make. It just takes a bit of time. ~1hr start to finish
Believe me, the results are worth it!
And my fridge is slightly emptier, although you can’t really notice. Barely made a dent!
Grilling tofu, is my cooking method of choice. It’s easy, quick and doesn’t leave the tofu with a weird chewiness. The veggies retained their crunch and the dressing was flavorful + light. The napa cabbage was lovely!! It was extremely sturdy and didn’t break apart when I made the wraps. Feel free to use another large leaf lettuce if you choose.
You can also feel free to add other veggies in the mix, like mushrooms + peppers.
Somehow my “no plan” plan, worked! This was a great, light summery meal. You won’t feel weighed down after this one and it’s a fabulous recipe to try if you’re new to tofu.
The leftovers are calling my name for lunch!
And now my bed is calling my name for sleep.
Ashley
Answer. No idea!
Amidst all my errand running + phone calls, I had no plan of what to cook this week.
No.Plan.
What to do with a surplus of veggies? Seriously, I could open up a little farmers market booth with the stock I currently have.
Also in the fridge? Nasoya Sprouted Organic Tofu – a new find! My stomach only seems to like sprouted tofu, and up until now I’ve been buying the brand Wildwood. I spotted the Nasoya tofu at Whole Foods the other day and also noticed there was a $1.25 coupon in the latest WF flyer. It was $2.99 pre-coupon. I can buy the Wildwood for $2.15, but while this coupon is around, I’ll be using the Nasoya. Gotta’ get the deals while you can!
While I was thinking about what to make, I prepped the tofu + pressed it with LOVE. ;)
The head of napa cabbage must have weighed 4lbs. No joke. Definitely usable for more than one meal and it’s actually an ingredient I’ve never cooked with before. I headed to twitter and asked what I should make. Everyone was pointing me in the direction of stir fry, lettuce wraps, Asian slaw, etc.
I decided on making tofu lettuce wraps with tons of veg.
Literally, tons.
- broccoli stalk
- carrots
- napa cabbage
- zucchini
- green onion
I sliced my veggies matchstick style, but chop however you like! [In that video they cut the skins off of the zucchini, but I leave them on]
I’m not a big fan of large pieces of zucchini, because the center is always wet/mushy. Cutting them matchstick style prevents this from happening.
Then I closed my eyes, threw a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, whisked them together + gave it a taste.
Better than expected.
In fact, quite delicious!
- ginger
- garlic
- Bragg’s aminos
- coriander
- apple cider vinegar
- sunflower oil
- black pepper
This meal could most definitely be eaten raw, but I wanted to give it a quick stir fry.
Check out my tutorial on how to grill tofu. The key is greasing the grates! No sticking + perfectly cooked tofu every time.
On the side, I had a pile of brown rice noodles, topped with chopped peanuts. [Annie Chun’s Maifun Brown Rice Noodles – SO very good] The noodles were added the to my wraps, for some extra chewy fun.
I not only used the cabbage IN the veggie mix, I used them to wrap everything up as well!
Tofu + Veggie Lettuce Wraps [serves 4] gluten free + vegan
Dressing:
- 1T + 1t Bragg’s liquid aminos
- 2T sunflower oil
- 1/4c apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4t zested/crushed ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed ~2t
- black pepper
Veggie Mix:
- 1 broccoli stalk
- 1 medium zucchini [~6-7” long]
- 4 large napa cabbage leaves
- plus more for wrapping veggies
- 3 medium carrots
- 3T chopped green onion [the green part]
- 1/3-1/2c chopped peanuts
- 2t toasted sesame oil
Tofu + Noodles:
- 1 block extra firm tofu [sliced into 1/4-1/2” slabs + pressed for 30min]
- 1T sunflower oil
- 2t Bragg’s
- black pepper
- 1 package Maifun brown rice noodles [= 4 servings]
- Prep + press tofu.
- While tofu is pressing, chop broccoli, zucchini, cabbage, carrots + green onion in whatever style you like and place in a large bowl. *I prefer matchstick.
- In a bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients + whisk together. Taste + adjust if necessary.
- Boil water in a pot for the rice noodles + cook rice noodles according to package directions, once the water is boiling. ~3min.
- Drain, rinse with cold water + set aside.
- Toss veggies with dressing and mix in the peanuts.
- Pre-heat your grill to med-high, 350-375*.
- Place tofu slabs in a sealable container or bag, add oil, Bragg’s + black pepper. Gently shake/toss to coat and let sit 5min.
- Grease the grill grate, liberally with high heat cooking oil [like sunflower]. Use a Misto can or a heat safe brush to apply.
- Grill tofu on each side for 6-9min. You want dark grill marks + it should release from the grates very easily to flip.
- Prep the veggie wrapping leaves, by washing, blotting dry, and chopping off the thick white stem.
- Heat a wok or large pot over med-high heat, and when hot add the veggie mix.
- Cook 5min, stirring occasionally.
- Turn heat off and drizzle on toasted sesame oil.
- *If you want your rice noodles hot, add them back to the pot over med-low heat, with 1t oil so they don’t stick.
- Bring tofu inside, shop into cubes and stir into veggie mix.
- Serve as lettuce wraps with noodles on the side + garnish with chopped peanuts. You can also mix the noodles in with the veggies, if you want to eat this stir fry style.
*If you don't have Bragg’s, you can sub soy sauce.
Okay, I know there are a lot of steps, but I assure you it’s not a difficult recipe to make. It just takes a bit of time. ~1hr start to finish
Believe me, the results are worth it!
And my fridge is slightly emptier, although you can’t really notice. Barely made a dent!
Grilling tofu, is my cooking method of choice. It’s easy, quick and doesn’t leave the tofu with a weird chewiness. The veggies retained their crunch and the dressing was flavorful + light. The napa cabbage was lovely!! It was extremely sturdy and didn’t break apart when I made the wraps. Feel free to use another large leaf lettuce if you choose.
You can also feel free to add other veggies in the mix, like mushrooms + peppers.
Somehow my “no plan” plan, worked! This was a great, light summery meal. You won’t feel weighed down after this one and it’s a fabulous recipe to try if you’re new to tofu.
The leftovers are calling my name for lunch!
And now my bed is calling my name for sleep.
Ashley
