Tofu Lettuce Wraps (Shredded Tofu & Mushrooms)
These lettuce wraps are special because they are shredded, along with mushrooms, marinated in a sweet and savory mix of soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil with spices, then served in an inventive manner with endive leaves and radish chips. There I go, getting all creative again. But it makes for a bright and colorful meal, with elevated flavors.
Ingredient notes
- Extra Firm Tofu is the tofu of choice for this recipe, for ease of grating and because it has less water that will need evaporating when cooking.
- Mushrooms– Any mushrooms that are large enough to hold and grate individually over a box grater work. I’ve used creminis (aka baby bellas) as well as King Oysters which are firm and larger-sized. Shiitake might be harder to grate as they seem tougher and more fibrous.
- Spices– The recipe includes 6 spices plus coconut sugar and mushroom powder. The mushroom powder is optional and you can substitute fresh onion or ginger if you prefer. Pare back the spices if needed or use all 6 spices. See recipe card notes for substitutions and other spice notes.
- Coconut Aminos– these are a great alternative to soy sauce (which contains 42% sodium) or even the low-sodium variety of Tamari (which contains 29% sodium) because coconut aminos contain only 12% sodium (270 mg per 1 tbsp). They are made from coconut sap and taste very similar to soy/tamari, and I recommend trying them. You can sub with tamari or soy sauce.
- Coconut sugar is used in place of white sugar because of its caramelized flavor. I’ve used it in my Homemade Asian Spice Blend because it is drier than brown sugar. You can sub with brown or white sugar.
Step by step instructions
Extra firm tofu and fresh mushrooms are grated using the larger holes of a box grater. This is a fast and simple process. The soft ingredients grate smoothly and easily. This yields a “meat-like” texture, with lots of surface area for the spice blend. It creates a very flavorful protein.
Left: King Oyster mushrooms (any mushroom can be used) piled high after grating with a box grater. Right: Tofu and mushrooms are tossed together here for roasting (can also roast separately for more even cooking)
Seasoning:
The shredded tofu and mushrooms are tossed in Asian spices before cooking. I recommend taking ten minutes to make my Asian Spice Blend while you are at it, so you can make this or another Asian dish another time. Or you can measure the spice ingredients just for this recipe- as per the recipe card below. I have left the spicy heat out of this recipe to make it accessible to a variety of eaters, but if you love the heat, I recommend sprinkling some Gochugaru , red pepper flakes over the tofu and mushrooms or adding a pinch of cayenne to the specified spices before cooking.
1: The spice ingredients are gathered with coconut sugar in the middle. 2: Asian spice blend with sesame seeds and mushroom powder. 3: Tofu on the left and mushrooms on the right, tossed with spices.
Roast hot and fast:
To create the flavorful tofu and mushroom “meat” the spiced bits are roasted in a 450-degree oven. This allows the moisture to reduce and the tofu and mushrooms to develop a golden surface with a bit of a chew and even a little toasted flavor.
Above: Left: Tofu roasted on its own develops a deep golden color and crunchy texture. Right: Tofu and mushrooms roasted together will retain more moisture than if roasted separately
Serving + Optional Toppings
- Lettuce cups– any type of lettuce that has rounder leaves, such as Boston or Bib lettuce works well and doesn’t fall apart and Raddicchio leaves, while a tad bitter, are beautiful and hold up great as well, and you can see them pictured in this post.
- Pickled/Fermented veggies– Buy one of the many options that may be sold at your grocer, as a healthy and tangy addition to this meal. At the very least, you can slice up some red onion and toss it with some white or apple cider vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar for a basic quick pickled option.
- Radish “chips” – pickled radish is common to eat with Asian meals, but roasting radishes yields a mildly flavored version with can be enjoyed by radish lovers and haters alike.
- Candied Ginger– this highly optional ingredient is perfect for this dish since it is coated in sugar which fits the savory and sweet flavors of this recipe with Asian spices..
- Sauteed spinach– I chose sauteed spinach with garlic as a topping if/when I eat leftovers of this dish or prefer a rice bowl concoction over a lettuce wrap at any given time (see photos further down of that preparation).
Above: Radish chips can roast alongside the tofu and mushrooms. They have a more subtle and sweeter flavor than raw radishes. Candied ginger slices, chopped up, makes a delightful topping as well.
Serving options
As titled, and written, this recipe makes perfect lettuce wraps. However, if you have leftovers the following day, or find lettuce wraps too cumbersome, try it as a rice bowl, with sauteed spinach.
Other ways to eat tofu without further cooking
Another inventive way that I’ve developed recipes with tofu, is to marinate it in such a way that it can be eaten soft and juicy without further heating or searing, as in my Tofu Sushi Hand Rolls, or make my Za’atar Marinated Tofu, or specifically make my Marinated Tofu Toast. All three of these recipes gives you the option of using the marinated tofu without cooking further (soymilk is already cooked before it is coagulated to make tofu).
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Tofu Lettuce Wraps (Shredded Tofu & Mushrooms)
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Start CookingKitchen Tools
- 1 sheet pan
- 1 saute pan
- 1 coffee/spice grinder, optional
Ingredients
Tofu and mushroom mixture
- 2 blocks extra firm tofu (14 oz. blocks)
- 1 lb mushrooms of choice (i.e. 2 x 10oz boxes or 1 lb bulk, see notes)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or other unflavored oil)
- below mix of spices (ok to leave out some or use fresh ingredients in place of any you prefer)
- 4 tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce or tamari, see notes)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Spice Blend (use 3 tbsp of prepared Sofa Dinners blend or use below): see notes
- 1½ tbsp coconut sugar
- ½ tsp crushed Aleppo pepper flakes (or red chili flakes or Gochugaru)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground white pepper (or black pepper)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (or black)
- 2 tsp mushroom powder (see post for. method, or leave out)
Lettuce wrap ingredients (in addition to tofu/mushrooms)
- 8 lettuce leaves (your choice)
- 4 cups cooked rice (your choice)
- pickled or fermented veggies (your choice)
- 4 scallions
- 8 radishes (prepped with tofu/mushrooms)
- candied ginger (totally optional- fun addition)
Optional ingredient if serving as a rice bowl instead of lettuce wraps
- 2 bags fresh spinach (for rice bowl option)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Prepare the spices
- Either use 3 tbsp of my prepared Asian Spice Blend if you want to make that, or you can assemble the spices as listed here-1½ tbsp coconut sugar, ½ tsp crushed Aleppo pepper flakes, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp ground white pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, 2 tsp mushroom powder, and mix together before shredding the 2 blocks extra firm tofu and 1 lb mushrooms of choice. See notes below.
Make the tofu and mushroom mixture
- Drain the tofu and press a bit with paper towel to remove any moisture you can, but no need to press. Grate the tofu on the larger holes of a box grater.
- Wash the mushrooms to remove any dirt, and grate one at a time on the larger holes of a box grater.
- Spread the shredded tofu and mushrooms out in single layer on parchment on sheet pan. If you use one pan for each, they will roast more evenly (mushrooms have more moisture and take a bit longer), but you can certainly toss them together on one pan for similar results.
- If you want to make the "radish chips" then slice 8 radishes, sprinkle with a teeny bit of oil, salt and pepper and lay out in single layer on the sheet pan with tofu and/or mushrooms to roast.
- Sprinkle the spices over the tofu and mushrooms and roast in hot oven until golden and looking a bit crispy (about 10 min). Don't roast too long, or they will really shrink up. You want some golden color but both ingredients are so full of moisture you have to decide how much roasting will yield a nice result without the ingredients withering away to nothing. The radish chips won't likely get too crispy but are a delightful topping.
- Briefly sauté the roasted tofu and mushrooms in pan with 4 tbsp coconut aminos and 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil. This gives the final layer of flavor, without the liquids burning in the oven. You can chop and include some candied ginger for a delightful zingy flavor. The sugar is appropriate here, as it will caramelize and is already part of the flavor profile
Choose your serving options
- If serving in lettuce wraps, prepare 8 lettuce leaves. If serving as main dish on plate or bowl, you will use similar components, without the lettuce leaves.
- Assemble your components as desired such as 4 cups cooked rice , pickled or fermented veggies of choice, 4 scallions, radish chips, sesame seeds, chopped candied ginger, and/or 2 bags fresh spinach sauteed if you serve the rice bowl option.
Notes – see post for steps/photos/more tips
- Mushrooms- you can shred any fresh mushrooms you like. I have used boxed cremini (baby bella) mushrooms and I’ve used fancy King Oysters found in bulk at my grocery store. As long as you can hold them individually to grate them, they will work.
- Coconut aminos- these taste like soy sauce. You can substitute it with soy sauce or tamari (the low-sodium option). Aminos have far less sodium (12% vs. 29% or 42%).
- Spices- don’t get overwhelmed by the list of spices. You can leave some out and/or use the fresh versions of any (i.e. clove of garlic, minced onion, grated ginger) when you pull the ingredients together in a pan at the end.
