Lettuce Wraps (WFPB, vegan, oil-free)

The lettuce wraps at P.F. Changs are delicious. They are also mysterious.  Who knows what is in their vegetarian lettuce wraps. Their website even says it’s a secret recipe.

All I know is that I put all my favorite asian flavors into a skillet (soy sauce! green onions! peanuts!), avoided all the weird ingredients that make me nervous (like oyster and fish sauce) and spooned it into pieces of lettuce. After several tries and tweaking, it’s an amazing meal.

I’ve never bought water chestnuts before, and I’ve been missing out! They are so crunchy! With almost no calories, and lots of fiber and minerals, I highly suggest you check out the asian section of your grocery store and try them.

If you’re not a fan of tofu or mushrooms, I actually think this is a good recipe to help you start liking them. They are there for bulk and take on the flavor of the peanut sauce, so you don’t really taste them.

This meal is perfect year-round for lots of flavor and nutrition, and something different and refreshing from typical soups and salads.

A little hot sauce takes everything up a notch, in our book.

If you like Asian flavors, you’d also love our favorite sushi,  or this Chopped Thai Power Salad with Sesame Ginger dressing!

5 from 1 vote

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Asian Lettuce Wraps (WFPB, vegan, oil-free)

Prep Time

30 mins

 

Delicious flavors from mushrooms, green onions, tofu, and a peanutty sauce go into addicting crunchy lettuce wraps!

Servings: 10 wraps

Author: Faithful Plateful

Ingredients

Sauce

• 6 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce (or alternative)
• 6 TBSP maple syrup
• 4 TBSP rice vinegar
• 4 TBSP peanut or almond butter
• 2 tsp hot sauce, if desired

Filling

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 14- oz block extra firm tofu
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 8 oz cooked ramen noodles (I use a brown rice & millet ramen, but any noodle will work)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

For serving

• 1 head iceberg or butter lettuce
• sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and hot sauce or red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small blender or jar. Blend or shake the jar until combined.

2. Cook the ramen noodles, or noodles of choice.

3. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger together with a few tablespoons water in a large skillet.

4. Once onions are beginning to look translucent, add the mushrooms. Drain the tofu and break up the block of tofu into the skillet (or cut it into 1/4 inch cubes). Cook several minutes until mushrooms begin to shrink.

5. Pour HALF the sauce over the tofu mixture. Stir until tofu is well-coated with sauce to give it flavor. Tofu is flavorless on it's own and needs the sauce.

6. Turn off the heat. Add the grated carrot, chopped bell pepper, chopped water chestnuts, green onion, and cilantro. Add the cooked and drained noodles and the remaining sauce. Stir until all incorporated.

7. Let the mixture cool slightly while you pull the lettuce leaves off the head into cup-shaped pieces.

   To serve, spoon the filling into the pieces of lettuce and top with hot sauce, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts.

Recipe Notes

Substitutions:

Can use slivered almonds or cashews instead of water chestnuts to give a crunch, but the water chestnuts are actually super crunchy and good! And they are almost 0 calorie. They can be found in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores near the soy sauce. 

 

Can use cooked rice instead of rice noodles. Whole wheat spaghetti noodles also work. This adds fiber and makes the meal more filling as a stand-alone entree.