This particular recipe was inspired by a popular dish from a big US Asian restaurant chain. Although I’ve never been to that restaurant, when my husband mentioned the dish and how much he had enjoyed it, I decided to try to create my own version. I am so glad I did because these Lettuce Wraps are the perfect Summer dish. They are filled with flavour, crunch and they will keep you cool when it’s too hot to cook. The other plus is that these Lettuce Wraps are super easy to make and customizable too!

I chose to make this version vegan-friendly for those who prefer to avoid animal protein. That being said, you can easily replace the tofu with some animal protein of choice (e.g. shrimp, chicken or beef) or even with some tempeh. It would be just as delicious!

This recipe is all about assembling really. Indeed, aside from cooking the main protein and vermicelli, all you have to do is chop some veggies and put it all together; and voilà: look at how yummy this looks :p!

I’m salivating just looking at these photos, so lets jump straight into the recipe! Here is what you’ll need to make these:

Lettuce Wraps:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 packet of vermicelli noodles (or rice noodles)
• 1 block of firm tofu (or tempeh to keep this plant-based)
• 1 romaine lettuce or 1 butter lettuce (we shall use each leaf for the “wraps”)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 or 2 carrots, finely sliced
• 1 bunch of spring onions, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp of sesame oil
• some cilantro, for garnish
• optional: a few cashews and/ or sesame seeds (for garnish as well)

Sauce/Marinade Ingredients:

•  2 Tbsp of tamari ( aka gluten-free soy sauce. Regular soy sauce is fine too if you are fine with gluten)
• 1 Tbsp of sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 knob of ginger, peeled & grated (or finely chopped – about the size of 1 thumb)
• Optional: a pinch of chili flakes, if you like it spicy ;).

How To:

1. Start by preparing your marinade for the tofu (which you will also use as the sauce later). Add all of the marinade ingredients into a bowl. After roughly dicing your firm tofu, add it to the bowl. Coat each piece of tofu with the marinade, then place the bowl into the fridge to marinate for at least 20 minutes.
2. Bring some water to a boil (this water will be used to cook your vermicelli noodles).
3. While the water is boiling, start to prep your veggies: peel and chop your carrots into thin match sticks, slice your red bell pepper, chop your spring onions (saving the white part for later), wash and separate a few leaves of romaine/ butter lettuce and chop some cilantro. Set them all aside.
4. Once the water is boiling, remove it from the heat and add your vermicelli noodles into it. Let them “cook” into this hot water according to the package instructions (typically, this should not take more than 4-5 minutes). Once they are tender, rinse/drain them and set them aside too.
5. Time to prepare your tofu! Heat up 1 Tbsp of sesame oil into frying pan. When warm, add the white part of your spring onions (chopped) and the crushed garlic. Sauté until fragrant ( be careful: don’t burn the garlic)!
6. Add your marinated tofu to the pan and sauté it until golden brown on medium heat. Make sure that you stir it every now and then to get every side, nice and golden.
7. *When your tofu is cooked, as an option, add your carrots/bell pepper to sauté them for a bit with the rest of the marinade. When lightly cooked (but still crunchy), you can remove your pan from the heat. *This step is optional, if you prefer to keep all of your veggies raw, that is fine too ;).
8. Now, it’s time to create your Lettuce Wraps! Take 1 lettuce leaf, add some vermicelli, grilled tofu, the veggies, some spring onion (the green part) and some chopped cilantro. Additionally, you can sprinkle some sesame seeds and cashews at the end as well. Repeat this last step with each lettuce wrap. It’s that easy. Dig in and enjoy!

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as we do in my household. These Lettuce Wraps are truly the perfect and quick Summer dish. They are delicious, satisfying and will keep you cool too!

Bon appétit.

Sarah.