There’s just something so satisfying about these Vegan Tofu Lettuce Cups – aka, San Choy Bow. They are wonderfully tasty, filling and healthy. I love the crispy bite of the lettuce combined with the tofu mixture inside it. It’s heaven on earth!
I’ve been a bit obsessed with vietnamese vegan dishes lately – I made some Bahn Mi Rolls last week, which were amazing, and I’ve got a Bahn Mi Salad in my mind at the moment too… I just love the flavours and how they go together, and it’s making me really want to go to Vietnam again!
These San Choy Bow are a little bit spicy, but you can tone it down a bit by omitting or reducing the chilli flakes. Personally I love the zing it gives to this dish!
Our lettuce cups were a bit bigger – you could easily eat one for lunch (we did!), or you could make them smaller by using a smaller lettuce leaf (you could try it with baby cos instead!), and have them as an appetizer. They are delicious either way!
I love the water chestnuts in this – they are one of my favourite ingredients, and I don’t use them as often as I’d like to! (anyone got any great water chestnut recipe ideas!?) I just love the crunch factor, and they really go well in this recipe!
Isn’t mint one of the best herbs? I used the standard mint in this recipe, but if you want you could use vietnamese mint to give it a slightly different flavour. There are so many mints out there – one of my favourites is Japanese mint, which has a very intense minty smell – like, the nose clearing kind. Spearmint is also so great! I also just found out that there is a banana mint!
If you’re making these as an entrée, you could pair it with a main of Vegan Beef Bean and Noodle Soup and then an Apple Tarte Tatin for dessert! Now we’re talking!
- 1/4 red onion diced finely
- 1 Tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 150g firm tofu crumbled
- 1 carrot julienned (I use a grater attachment with my food processor)
- 1 spring onion chopped
- 4 baby corns chopped
- 1/4 cup water chestnuts roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp mint chopped
- 1 Tbsp peanut oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Tamari
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp kecap manis
- 1/4 cup bean shoots
- 3 cups of iceberg lettuce
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Heat the peanut oil in a non stick frying pan. Fry the red onion and ginger in a fry pan for a few minutes
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Then add the tofu, carrot, spring onion, baby corns and water chestnuts
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Add the sesame oil, tamari, chilli flakes, lemon juice and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce). Mix through well and cook for around 5 minutes
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Add the mint and toss through for a minute or so. Turn off the heat
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Get your lettuce cups ready in bowls or on a plate (use the inner, crispier leaves of the iceberg lettuce). Spoon the tofu mixture into the lettuce cups evenly and top with bean sprouts
Add extra mint, chili, crushed peanuts and extra kecap manis if desired.
