Pan frying chopped tofu and drenching it in a yummy sauce is my new favorite tofu technique. It’s so easy and as I think about the sauce options, the variations are totally endless! Today I made these Hoisin Tofu Lettuce Cups with a few simple ingredients, many of which I already had on hand (What, you don’t have random half empty bottles of hoisin sauce in your fridge?)
And don’t worry, if you’re not into lettuce cups, you can totally serve this as a bowl meal. You’ll just need more rice, and maybe some diced red bell pepper to bulk them out a bit, but it will be just as yummy and a little less fussy. ;)
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Freezing Tofu
An extra, optional step to this recipe is to freeze and thaw your tofu before you begin. I like to place my package of tofu in the freezer right when I get home from the store and then the next day place it back in the refrigerator to thaw, so it’s ready a day or so later, or whenever I get around to using it. What is the benefit of freezing tofu? It completely changes the texture, making it more firm and less jelly-like. It also makes it super easy to just squeeze the liquid out with your hands, rather than having to wait 30 minutes or so while the delicate tofu presses. Try it some time. It really does make a difference!
Make Your Hoisin Tofu Lettuce Cups Spicy
You guys know I like my food spicy. The version of the recipe below is non-spicy, but can easily be converted for those who like to breathe fire (or if you just want a little tingle). Either drizzle sriracha over each cup to your liking, or add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes when adding the hoisin sauce to the tofu. Personally, I’m going to go for the sriracha.
Hoisin Tofu Lettuce Cups
Servings 4 2 cups eachIngredients
- 14 oz. extra firm tofu ($1.79)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce ($0.89)
- 2 green onions ($0.25)
- 1 carrot ($0.15)
- 1/4 cup peanuts ($0.12)
- 1 cup cooked rice ($0.25)
- 1 head lettuce* ($2.49)
Instructions
- Remove your tofu from the package and place it between two plates or rimmed baking sheets. Place something heavy on top, like a cast iron skillet, to weigh it down and press out the excess liquid. Let the tofu press for about 30 minutes. Pour off the liquid and pat the tofu dry with a paper towel.
- Roughly chop the block of tofu into small, irregular shapes. Place the chopped tofu in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Fold the tofu and cornstarch together until coated, then add a second tablespoon of cornstarch and fold again.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large non-stick skillet (cast iron or teflon, your choice) over medium. Once hot, add the cornstarch coated tofu. Allow the tofu to cook until golden brown on the bottom, then stir and let cook until golden brown on bottom again. Repeat this process until most of the tofu is golden and crispy on the edges (about 10 minutes total), then remove it from the heat.
- Add the hoisin sauce to the fried tofu and stir to coat. Slice the green onion and shred the carrot. Roughly chop the peanuts.
- To build the lettuce cups, spoon 1-2 Tbsp cooked rice into each lettuce leaf, top with 1-2 Tbsp of the hoisin tofu, then sliced green onion, shredded carrot, and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Tofu Lettuce Cups – Step by Step Photos
Remove a 14oz. block of extra firm tofu from its package and place it between two plates or rimmed baking sheets. Place something heavy on top, like a cast iron skillet, to allow the excess liquid to be pressed out. Press the tofu for 30 minutes, then pour off the liquid and pat it dry with a paper towel. If you have previously frozen and thawed your tofu, you can literally just squeeze the block between your hands and the liquid will just pour out. No need to let it press for 30 minutes.
Roughly chop the tofu into small, irregular shaped pieces.
Place the chopped tofu in a bowl and add 1/4 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Fold the ingredients together until the tofu is coated, then add a second tablespoon of cornstarch and fold again.
Heat 2 Tbsp cooking oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium (cast iron or teflon, they both work). Once the skillet and oil are very hot, add the cornstarch coated tofu. Let it cook until golden brown on the bottom, then stir and let it cook until golden brown again. Repeat this process until most of the tofu is golden brown and crispy (about 10 minutes total). Remove the tofu from the heat.
Add about 1/2 cup hoisin sauce to the tofu and stir to coat.
And there’s your hoisin tofu! Easy, right?
While the tofu is cooking, you can prepare the rest of the toppings. Roughly chop 1/4 cup peanuts, slice two green onions, and shred one carrot (I use a large-holed cheese grater).
To build the lettuce cups, place 1-2 Tbsp cooked rice in each lettuce leaf…
Then top with 1-2 Tbsp of the hoisin tofu, some shredded carrot, sliced green onions, and chopped peanuts.
And that’s it! Time to dig in!
This was a great dinner. I love lettuce wraps and tofu and these did not disappoint. Thanks for a great recipe!
I have to say I have added several new recipes to my repertoire thanks to your website. I especially like what you do with tofu and my husband loves this recipe. I shared it with my mom and she told me that freezing tofu is a traditional Japanese method. While I loved this, I also found that I couldn’t brown the tofu because it stuck too much to the pan. This could be more about the state of my pans but it happened no matter how much oil I used too. Even as just a scramble this was delicious. I also tried it with a Pad Thai sauce and vermicelli noodles. Such a versatile dish!
This was delicious! I used a bag of coleslaw mix and a red bell pepper as veggies, but other than that left everything the same. YUM!
I followed the prep steps for the tofu, however my tofu cooked more like scrambled eggs and stuck horribly to the pan. I’ve tried multiple pans and different oils but get the same result. Do you have suggestions for getting the chunks like this and not mush?
Hmm, that’s strange. As long as there is enough oil, it shouldn’t be sticking that badly. The only other thing I can think is to try not stirring it so often. Sometimes food sticks to pans before it has properly browned or formed a crust on the bottom, but once it does it kind of “releases” from the pan.
This recipe is a keeper! I added a diced red pepper to the mix because I had one that wanted using and it didn’t hurt a thing. Because the tofu has such a rich taste, we were able to stop eating while we had the possibility of leftovers and they were excellent over noodles. Thank you for another great one, Beth.
SO many things you can add to this as well. Sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, water chestnuts, bell pepper, mushrooms. Whatever you want really. Just depends on how much of a mess you want to make trying to stuff it all in some lettuce!
Oh boy ! Hooked ! Beautiful !
These look amazing! Totally making them for lunch one day this week!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
The only bad thing about this recipe is that I already meal planned and grocery shopped for this week so I can’t make ittill NEXT week. 😥
Crazy! I was just craving lettuce cups and thinking I needed to look up a recipe, when I navigated to my favorite recipe blog (this one!) and there one was, right on the front page! Seems like a sign, so I’m definitely making these.
Ooh! These are really similar to something I make. I’ve got a couple suggestions for variations:
– Toast the peanuts with some Chinese five spice.
– Swap out the rice for chilled soba noodles with a little soy sauce and sesame oil on them.
– Shred a radish
You could also roll them up in rice paper to make spring rolls…maybe add a spicy peanut butter dipping sauce.
How well does this keep? I don’t normally use tofu so I don’t have experience to draw on.
The texture of the tofu changes a bit upon refrigeration (it gets a little softer), but I enjoy the leftovers quite a bit. You will want to keep the components separate and just build the wraps as you eat them, though. :)
Can’t wait to try! My favorite tofu recipe of yours is the Spicy Tofu Bowls with the Sesame Kale. Made it yesterday!
Keep the tofu recipes coming! We now eat tofu once a week thanks to you :)