DIVINE Lettuce Wraps

Michael found this recipe in VegNews.  Now, I'm not the type of person who gravitates toward recipes where lettuce is involved, but he insisted we make this and I'm SOOOOOOO happy we did.  We used a new spice: Chinese five-spice, we used a new veggie: jicama, and we used a new sauce: hoisin!  We love when we incorporate new foods!  This is a really fun meal to share with friends - your all digging into the same bowl, it's a little messy which I think is fun, and competing for best lettuce wrapper never gets old.  Hands down, I think this is the yummiest recipe I have posted on this blog so far.  I mean it's amazing.  A-MA-ZING!!!!!!

Prepare your tofu first, and prepare everything else while the tofu is baking.  It might seem involved, but once you get the ingredients chopped, it basically all just gets thrown in a big pan and you'll be finished with the filling by the time the tofu is done.  The leftovers (pictured above) are just as good, if not better :)

Serves 4

Baked Tofu
Ingredients
1 16-oz block extra firm organic tofu sliced into eight pieces
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1⁄4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Between two clean dishtowels or paper towels, press tofu to remove excess water
3. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, peanut oil, and five-spice powder 
4. In a lightly oiled baking dish, place tofu and cover with sauce
5. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and firm.  Flip tofu half way through baking 

Wrap Filling
Ingredients
1 Tbsp peanut or grapeseed oil
1 inch cube of ginger, peeled and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄2 pound of daikon radish or jicama, finely chopped (daikon radish isn't in season right now so we used jicama and it was perfect)
1 cup frozen, shelled organic edamame
3 scallions, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
the baked tofu, finely chopped or crumbled
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free-ers)
1 tsp-ish hot sauce - your choice how hot you want it!
1⁄4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 1⁄2 cups toasted peanuts or walnuts (we used walnuts), coarsely chopped
10-ish sturdy lettuce leaves (we used butter lettuce which was good, but not sturdy.  VegNews recommends Boston, bibb, or red romaine)
hoisin sauce for dipping/dabbing/sprinkling

Directions
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, preheat oil, stir in ginger and garlic, and cook for 45 seconds or until fragrant.  Add radish or jicama and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes until softened.  Stir in edamame and cook for another 2 minutes or until tender, then add scallions and tofu.
2. Sprinkle with soy sauce, hot sauce, and five-spice powder and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and completely coated with soy sauce, 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and nuts-o-choice.
Serve filling right out of the pan or in a deep dish, stack lettuce leaves on a plate, and pour some hoisin sauce in a small bowl.
3. To serve: take a lettuce leaf, spoon a few tablespoons of filling into the center and dab on hoisin sauce.  Fold the bottom of the leaf toward the filling then overlap the sides (like a little burrito) and eat immediately.  Make sure there are lots of napkins at the table.

*If you use tamari instead of soy sauce (which is what we did) and hold the hoisin sauce, this is Gluten Free!

This recipe is courtesy of Terry Hope Romero via VegNews.  She is the co-author of Veganomicon (one of our favorites), Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (which I will be buying shortly), and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (another amazing one).  Viva Vegan!, her first solo book, was released earlier this year!  If I could only have one vegan cookbook, it would be Veganomicon!  Thanks you for keeping our mouths happy and our bellies full, Terry!!!