These curried tofu lettuce wraps are made with stir-fried veggies, juicy mango chunks, and crunchy peanuts, all wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves.
I've been doing something new for the past few months. Every day, I make sure to incorporate ginger and turmeric into my diet. The ginger thing has been going on for a while, but the turmeric is new, or at least consistently eating it every day is.
It's working. I have an old hand injury that bugs me from time to time. I waited tables through college and, no kidding, carrying the big trays full of food balanced on one hand above my shoulder totally messed up my wrist, to the point where I had swelling the size of a golf ball on top of my left hand, along with lots of pain. My friends lovingly started calling it my "squishy ball thing." I know, cute, right?
Anyhow, I eventually had the hand operated on, but it still bugs me on occasion, particularly during the summer. It's never swelled up like it used to, but after a day of typing it would sometimes ache, and in hot yoga class, oftentimes the teacher would instruct me to flare my fingers, but they weren't going anywhere.
So this year, when my hand started acting up during the few warm days we had in April, I started with the turmeric every day, and guess what? We're into August, it's gotten way past the ninety degree mark, and no hand trouble whatsoever!
This recipe for curried tofu lettuce wraps is one of my recent favorite ways to get my daily turmeric, because it's so incredibly tasty. Think stir-fry, but with an Indian twist, so loads of flavor. One of these wraps has just the amount of turmeric that I shoot for in a day, along with black pepper, which enhances the turmeric's effectiveness, and ginger, my other favorite (delicious) anti-inflammatory. I threw in some mango, for sweetness to contrast the curry, and peanuts for crunch. These are pretty much the perfect summer meal when wrapped in a lettuce leaf, but if you want something extra hearty, feel free to serve it atop some rice.
Stir-Fried Veggie & Curried Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 3 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp. maple syrup
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
- 2 tsp. garam masala
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- few dashes black pepper
For the Stir-Fry
- 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 tbsp. high smoke point cooking oil
- 2 cups julienne cut carrots, about 4 medium carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- ½ cup diced mango, about 1 champagne mango, or ½ of a larger mango
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 scallions, chopped
For Serving
- 4 large lettuce leaves, bibb or romaine work great
- your favorite hot sauce, optional
Instructions
Make the Sauce
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Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Make the Stir-Fry
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium heat. When oil is hot, add tofu. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice, until pieces are browned on multiple sides. Remove from skillet and transfer to a plate.
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Add a dash more oil to the skillet if it seems dry, then raise the heat to high. Add carrots and pepper. Stir-fry, flipping constantly, until veggies are tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Return tofu to skillet and add sauce. Flip a few times and cook just until sauce thickens, about 1 minute.
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Remove from heat and add mango, peanuts, scallions and cilantro to the mixture. Flip a few times to incorporate.
Serve
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Divide stir-fry among lettuce leaves. Top with hot sauce, if desired, and serve.
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