Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Crispy roasted tofu tossed in a spicy Asian chili sauce and tucked into cooling butter lettuce: these Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps are my all time fav!!

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Tofu was always one of those foods that kind of freaked me out… I mean, when I thought of tofu, I really only thought of the soggy white cubes found in miso soup. So, being that I’m not a vegetarian, I really was never drawn to eating tofu instead of meat. One day, however, my sister was feeling impulsive in the grocery store (a common occurrence… lol) and brought home a few blocks of those ~suspicious~ soybean blocks. After a few failed attempts of preparing soggy, unappealing tofu, I finally got it right. These Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps are filled with crispy, flavorful tofu bits in a sweet and spicy chili sauce with tons of crunchy cooling veggies. Clearly, this tofu is not a soggy miso soup situation. It’s just plain delicious. You have to try these out!!

The breakdown…

These Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps come together super quick! First, though, you have to make sure your tofu is pressed. If you aren’t familiar, “pressing” is really just the process of draining all of the liquid from the tofu, which naturally absorbs lots of juices. To do this, you simply need to place the tofu between paper towels and place a heavy object on top. I like to use a heavy skillet, like my cast iron skillet. Cookbooks also work well. Switching the towels out half way through, this step is done in just about 30 minutes. Super easy, but definitely necessary!

You may be wondering, “if I’m buying extra firm tofu, why do I still need to press it?” If this is you, just remember that, even though your tofu is extra firm, it still is sitting in a pool of liquid in it’s package. So, even though this is the firmest type of tofu, it still absorbs some of those juices that contribute to a soggy, un-crisp tofu when roasted…and, trust me, nobody wants that!! I would even say you could press your tofu for over 30 minutes, especially if you can’t find the extra firm variety at your store.

onto the recipe!!

With your tofu all pressed and ready to go, it’s time to get going with the rest of the Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps! First up, you have to dice up that tofu and toss it with some cornstarch. While some Asian recipes opt to mix the cornstarch into the glaze, I love tossing the tofu straight into the cornstarch at the forefront. Personally, I think this gives the tofu the perfect crust that is truly unmatched. When roasted with a little bit of a neutral oil (or sesame oil for an extra Asian punch!), the tofu is absolutely perfect.

That being said, the gochujang sauce is really where all the flavor really shines. Plus, with a simple combination of Asian household staples, this sauce is really quite simple. The garlic brings in a nice bite, while the honey and water are really cooling factors here. Moreover, the rice vinegar and soy sauce are essential ingredients for that full-bodied Asian taste. Lastly, and arguably most important to this sauce, however, is the addition of that gochujang chili paste. Gochujang is a Korean fermented chili paste that’s a bit sweet, but primarily pretty spicy. I like to think of it as a better tasting sriracha. In fact, I use gochujang instead of sriracha in most recipes. That being said, if you can’t find it, you could easily substitute for sriracha or another chili paste. 

that sauce…

Once your tofu has crisped up, it’s time to pour that gochujang sauce over top. I like to toss my crispy tofu with the sauce and then return it to the oven for about 5 minutes. With this extra oven time, the sauce begins to form a nice glaze around the tofu… Plus, a little extra crisp never hurt:) Ultimately, when you remove the tofu pieces from the oven, all those good flavors of the glaze should stick with the cubes and they should be quite crisp. I recommend trying to get a good amount of that glaze into each lettuce wrap… it’s truly a delicious burst of flavor!

With that tofu and glaze, go ahead and tuck some scallions, toasted nuts, and cilantro into a few pieces of butter lettuce. Voila! You’re Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps are all done! So easy, yet so delicious!

when to serve these up!

These Gochujang Tofu Lettuce Wraps really make for the perfect easy dinner. I love to serve these up for my family. You may be apprehensive about the spice levels, but, don’t worry, you can easily reduce the amount of chili paste to please everyone in the family! They would be delicious with my Mushroom and Kimchi Fried Wild Rice, or even a simple white rice. Alternatively, this recipe also works wonderfully for meal prep throughout the week. Vegetarian, healthy, and easy to store in some tupperware and assemble later, this is truly the best packed lunch. You could even throw a tortilla or scallion pancake around the outside and make these into tacos… the possibilities are truly endless!

However you serve this up, though, I know you’re going to love it! Let me know what you think in the comments below:)