Thinking of eating something healthy and super delicious – these Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps is the way to go. Its such a fun way to eat your salad – deconstructed and then you reconstruct the way you want it. You end up being content in every bite you take.

While I was in the US, I often craved for Indo – Chinese food that I have grown up eating back in Kolkata. There were a couple of restaurants that transported you back to India and could genuinely satiate your cravings. Weekends came and these places were buzzing with Indians and I often used to be one in the crowd. However, when I went to the much loved P.F.Chang’s, it introduced me to a whole new spectacle of Chinese food (though still not authentic, but definitely delicious). I tried the lettuce wraps and completely enamored by it.

Recently, I bought some fresh water chestnuts from the grocery store ad I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate it by making lettuce wraps. Its healthy and yummy food – al rolled into one bite. It boasts of bold flavors and hence addictive. The flavorful filling compliments the freshness of the lettuce and the crunchiness from the roasted peanuts.

Why wait – toss up the filling in a lip smacking sauce and enjoy these easy to make wraps with your friends and family!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS: (For  4- 6 people)

• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
• 250 gms extra firm tofu
• 2 cups fresh water chest nuts, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp red chili sauce
• 1 tsp dried chili flakes
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
• 10 – 12 romaine lettuce leaves/ iceberg lettuce leaves
• grated carrots, for garnishing
• roasted peanuts, for garnishing
• Salt, to taste

METHOD:

• In a bowl combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red chili sauce,  vinegar and sesame oil and set aside.
• Take the tofu slab and squeeze out excess water using a kitchen towel. Once the excess water has been squeezed out, finely chop the tofu.
• In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Once heated add the red chili flakes and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Add the chopped tofu and let it cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Keep breaking the tofu pieces randomly as it is cooking.
• Next add in both the mushrooms and let it cook for another 2 minutes. Make sure that the water has evaporated completely.
• Add ginger and garlic and let the mixture cook for a minute. At this point add the chopped water chestnuts and green onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
• The tofu should be golden brown on its edges. Once this happens add the sauce mixture set aside.
• Add salt (make sure to add less salt, since the sauce mixture is quite salty) and let the whole mixture cook until you hear bubbling sounds from the sauce.
• Once the mixture is cooked , take it off the flame and keep it aside to be served in a bowl.
• While the mixture is cooking, take the lettuce leaves and put it in a covered bowl with ice cubes for atleast 15 minutes so that the leaves are crunchy.
• Take the lettuce leaves, pat dry it, fill the filling and serve as shown in the pic.

Enjoy and Stay Healthy!