Lettuce Cups with Tofu & Beef
Submitted by happyzhangbo
Lettuce cups with ground beef and tofu in a savory chili-garlic, hoisin, and sesame sauce. A lighter take on Chinese lettuce wraps with hidden tofu stretching the beef.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
10 minREADY
45 minThese lettuce wraps pull a sneaky trick: half the filling is extra-firm tofu minced fine enough to disappear into the ground beef. The texture is identical, the flavor picks up whatever sauce you throw at it, and you end up with a lighter, higher-protein version of the P.F. Chang’s classic.
Press the tofu properly before mincing. Two minutes between layers of paper towels pulls out enough water that it browns instead of steams in the wok. Wet tofu is the difference between a filling that tastes savory and one that tastes soggy.
The sauce combines chili-garlic, hoisin, soy, rice vinegar, and sherry in a whisked-ahead mix. Everything hits the pan at once after the beef-tofu is cooked, reducing just long enough to coat. Water chestnuts go in last to keep their crunch.
Chef Tips
- Mince the tofu very fine. Large chunks give the game away and disrupt the wrap texture.
- Use Bibb or butter lettuce with cup-shaped leaves. Iceberg tears; romaine doesn’t cradle the filling properly.
- Keep the scallion whites for cooking and save the green tops for garnish. They serve different purposes.
- Mix the sauce ahead of time so you can dump it in all at once when the pan is ready.
Variations
- Swap ground beef for ground chicken, turkey, or pork.
- Go fully vegetarian by doubling the tofu and swapping oyster sauce for the hoisin.
- Serve with steamed rice alongside for a more filling meal.
Ingredients
greens trimmed and reserved, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup each greens and whites - 3/4-ounce each)
Directions
In a bowl, whisk together chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar and sherry.
Slice the tofu into ½-inch thick slabs and lay the slices on top of paper towels.
Use more paper towels to firmly pat the tofu in order to remove as much water as possible.
This should take about 2 minutes and use about 3 paper towels.
Finely mince dried tofu and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wok or extra-large skillet over medium heat.
Add the ginger and scallion whites and cook until scallion whites are translucent and ginger is fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add ground beef and tofu and cook, stirring, until beef is opaque and just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add reserved sauce.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
Add water chestnuts and stir to incorporate.
Fill each lettuce leaf with the filling.
Serve garnished with scallion greens, red peppers and peanuts.
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