Health By Al

I realized recently I’d never had vegan lettuce wraps! I immediately started testing and am happy to now have this delicious recipe to share. They’re so good, my husband and I were fighting over the leftovers–that’s when you know it’s a good recipe haha.

Ingredients: Serves 3-4

Crispy Tofu

• 2 blocks extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 3 teaspoons chili powder

Vegetables

• Drizzle of olive oil
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 6 mushrooms, chopped small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon minced ginger 

Sauce

• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons tamari
• 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• Sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Additional Ingredients

• 1-2 heads butter lettuce
• sesame seeds

Directions:

1. First, let’s make the crispy tofu. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drain and pat dry the tofu with paper towels or a dish cloth. Crumble the tofu and add it to a large bowl along with the remaining crispy tofu ingredients. Spread it evenly onto the lined baking sheet and bake 45-55 minutes, until the outer pieces are crispy.
2. While it bakes, make the vegetable mixture. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large pan on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 3-4 minutes, until golden. Add the mushrooms and cook 5-7 minutes until they are cooked down, stirring often and adding a little water if it starts to stick. *complete step 3 as the mushrooms cook* Add the ginger/garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
3. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Once the ginger/garlic is done, add the sauce to the veggie pan and let it come to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer and cook, stirring a few minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat.
5. When the tofu is done, build the wraps by adding a scoop of crispy tofu to a lettuce cup, a scoop of sauce/veggie mix, & topping with sesame seeds! Enjoy!

Note: Store the crispy tofu/sauce separately for leftovers to keep the tofu crispy.