Because it’s hella hot out I was craving iceberg lettuce—dehydration? Maybe. But I thought eating an iceberg salad would be boring, so I made these sweet soy tofu lettuce cups!
These lettuce cups are straightforward to whip up, use firm tofu which I always have in my fridge, and are really pretty inexpensive too.
I used sweet soy sauce recently to make my recipe for nasi goreng as part of my EAT IT by hot for food member blog. And I’ve found myself adding it to just about everything. It’s basically what it sounds like, a sugary soy sauce. So if you don’t want to go buy a new pantry ingredient you can use agave, maple syrup, or granulated sugar with more regular soy sauce. I would just add it to your tastes.
All the crunchy watery freshness from the lettuce, carrots, and ginger pair well with the sweet soy tofu. I think cilantro is a must and I would have loved to add Thai basil, however, I don’t grow any and it’s impossible to find in LA grocery stores! These sweet soy lettuce cups make the perfect summer meal and if you’re looking for other easy ideas of things to make during the hot months check out this creamy cucumber noodle bowl or the thai lettuce wraps using vegan beef.
sweet soy tofu lettuce cups
Ingredients
lettuce cups
- 6 large leaves iceberg lettuce
- ¼ C chopped pickled ginger
- ⅓ C cilantro leaves
- ½ C shredded carrot
- ½ C thinly sliced red onions
sweet soy tofu
- ½ brick firm tofu, crumbled into chunks
- 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- ¼ C finely chopped roasted and salted peanuts
Instructions
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Cut the head of iceberg lettuce in half. Remove lettuce cups from both halves a few layers down. You can make as many as you want, but my recipe for the tofu is enough for 6 cups and can easily be doubled.
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Prepare the sweet soy tofu by frying the chunks of tofu in a large pan over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes in a bit of vegetable oil. Flip once to get crispy and golden brown. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl combine the sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, and chili sauce together. Once the tofu is crispy, add all the sauce to the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes until sticky and darker, only stirring occasionally.
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Assemble each cup with a portion of the sweet soy tofu, and top with pickled ginger, cilantro, carrots, and red onion.
