Vegan Asian Lettuce Wraps

A vegan twist on a classic family favorite – featuring a soy curl and mushroom filling in fresh lettuce leaves.  This dish is super simple, plant-based, delicious, and healthy!!  Garnish with fresh green onions, carrots, and crushed peanuts!!

Have you ever ordered and enjoyed P.F. Chang’s infamous Lettuce Wraps?

Many years ago, my friends invited my daughter and I to accompany them to P.F. Chang’s. I had never been and was surprised when everyone excitedly proclaimed we just had to order the lettuce wraps. Talk about an unassuming name for food. Am I right?

At the time, my four year old daughter was just as impressed as I was. That is, until said lettuce wraps arrived. To say the least, I had no idea what to do with them. As my friends showed us how to spoon the filling and toppings into a lettuce leaf and happily plopped each morsel into their mouths, beaming with excitement, I attempted to make my own. At first, I was worried it was too fragile to handle as finger food with all the filling and toppings and sauce. But I was soon delighted as the flavors burst onto my tastebuds!

Needless to say, I remember enjoying that meal quite distinctly. I remember the bright crisp lettuce leaves, the crispy fried white noodles, and the savory filling. It wasn’t until I received my new work assignment on a tiny island off the coast of Sardinia, Italy, that I realized I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my new-found food for long. There were some incredible cafes, pizzerias, and restaurants on this island. And we enjoyed each one immensely. The only drawback was that these Italian restaurants only offered Italian cuisine.

As I’ve mentioned before, it was during my two years in Italy that I really learned how to cook. My mother wisely taught me the fundamentals of cooking and baking over the course of my childhood and through my teen years, but it wasn’t until I lived on an isolated and remote island with a five year old who yearned for restaurant favorites that I had shared with her.

I soon learned that I could recreate many of these foods in our little kitchen. To my daughter’s delight, I learned how to make her favorites like pita bread and hummus, sushi rolls, fajitas and tortillas, tacos and tostadas, fried rice, ramen, and more!!

But my cooking journey truly began with these tasty lettuce wraps. And bonus, Italian friends taught me how to make Italian classics like ensalata caprese, risotto, and tiramisu. It was during this time that I learned that I could make just about anything if I had the right ingredients, tools, and recipe. Through trial and much error, I decided that my little girl and I could enjoy all of our favorites in the comfort of our own home.

These Lettuce Wraps are fan favorites for several good reasons. They can easily be made gluten-free – just be sure to use gluten-free ingredients like tamari instead of soy sauce, if needed. They can be less caloric since lettuce doesn’t contain very many calories at all. And who doesn’t love those crispy noodles and that savory sauce… But honestly, it’s the tasty filling and toppings that taste so good!

Plus, it’s finger food. And who doesn’t love creatively self-constructed finger foods?! Whenever I get to build my own made-to-order tapas or appetizers, it’s an awesome day!! And that’s exactly what these beautiful little lettuce wraps offer. Each little two bite-sized wrap is filled with a tasty filling tossed in a flavorful sauce, and wrapped up in lettuce leaves. And in case you didn’t know, you can use a variety of lettuce, including romaine and iceberg lettuce. I prefer using Boston lettuce leaves. They’re slightly softer and more colorful.

Which brings up a really good point. It is absolutely amazing that there are literally hundreds of copycat recipes for these lettuce wraps. And yet, here we are. Of course I had to post my own version, didn’t I? You may ask why, since there are already so many versions available to try. Well, because in the past fifteen years, I feel that I have captured the essence of this dish and maybe even elevated it just a little. Oh yes, I did.

First, I don’t use chicken or ground beef. I use plant-based and protein-rich all-natural soy curls that provide the perfect texture and mushrooms to provide ample umami – that extra taste element found in foods – you know, the one besides sweet, sour, salty, and bitter?? Umami is probably my favorite. I love that mushrooms, vinegar, lemon and lime juice, and soy all contain wisps of umami. If incorporated well, umami can transform and elevate vegan and plant-based foods.

In addition to the soy curls and mushrooms, I also use onions, water chestnuts, and sliced green onion to create the filling for these Vegan Asian Lettuce Wraps with Soy Curls. And instead of hoisin sauce, I use a little more rice wine vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, peanut butter or tahini, molasses, maple syrup, sesame oil, liquid smoke, and chili-garlic sauce. And voila! The sauce is full of flavor and absolutely splendid!

To make this a very fast, simple, and easy dish, I like using a food processor to shred all of the ingredients. Because each ingredient varies in texture, I recommend processing the ingredients separately in batches. First, I like to do the onions, then the mushrooms. While they’re both sautéing in a skillet, I then pulse the water chestnuts and reconstituted soy curls until they reach the right consistency. It’s important to not over process any of these though. The idea is to produce a nice textured product, not puree.

Equally important, if you do not have a food processor, you can absolutely use a knife to chop these ingredients. That is precisely how I started out making this many years ago. It wasn’t until I thought to shred the soy curls in the food processor using the pulse function that I considered processing all of the other ingredients as well. So, when I say trial and error, I should probably say “lessons learned”. That’s really what this post and blog is all about. I am sharing the things I have learned over the years that save you time without sacrificing flavor.

One other interesting note is that you can certainly omit the mushrooms if you don’t like or can’t consume mushrooms. Simply use another cup of soy curls, which brings up another important note. I like purchasing Butler Soy Curls in bulk from Country Life Natural Foods. You can purchase an 8 ounce bag for $3.75, a 3 pound bag for $17 (a $5 savings), or a 12 pound bag for $59 (a $30 savings).

They’re made from non-gmo whole soy beans. I get the 12 pound bag and store the soy curls in a five-gallon food grade bucket with a gamma-seal screw-top lid for easy access. You can normally purchase these buckets and lids at your local hardware stores a lot cheaper than online.

By now, the onions and mushrooms are cooked well enough to add in the soy curls and water chestnuts. The timing couldn’t work out better. Then you simply stir in the sauce and green onions. It doesn’t get much easier. It all comes together in about twenty minutes, start to finish.

And instead of frying rice noodles like I used to do, today I like using shredded carrots, crushed peanuts, and sliced green onions on top. If you can’t have peanuts, feel free to omit the peanuts altogether. Or use crushed almonds or cashews. Both would work great instead. They add a little more flavor and nice texture.

Nestled on that soft lettuce leaf, the filling, the sauce, and the toppings combine together to create the perfect handheld asian taco. The results are exquisite! And just like all those years ago, I simply can’t get enough.

I hope you enjoy these Vegan Asian Lettuce Wraps with Soy Curls as much as I do.

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!

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Ingredients

• 6 ounces butler soy curls (2-3 cups)*
• 8 ounces mushrooms**
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (2 Tbsp) 
• 1 Tbsp ginger puree or 1 inch piece, grated
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter or tahini
• 1 Tbsp molasses
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup or agave
• 3-4 tsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha***
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• 1-2 heads of butter lettuce
• ½ cup grated carrot
• ¼ cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Sauce Instructions

1. Place soy curls in a bowl and cover with hot water to reconstitute. After 5 minutes, drain excess water. Pulse in a food processor until shredded. Be careful not to overprocess. Set aside.

1. Back in the food processor, pulse the mushrooms and onions, until diced.

1. In a large skillet, sauté the diced mushrooms and onions with the sesame oil (if using) over low to medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add in the shredded soy curls.

1. Back in the food processor, pulse the water chestnuts until well chopped.  
2. Add the minced garlic, ginger, and chopped water chestnuts to the skillet and sauté 4-5 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp of water or broth to keep from sticking, if needed.

1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, peanut butter, and sriracha.  Add the sauce and green onions to the skillet and toss until mixture is coated. Continue to cook on low for 2-3 minutes.

6. Adjust seasonings, salt, and pepper, to taste; remove from heat.
7. To serve, spoon a portion of the mixture into a lettuce leaf and garnish with sliced green onions, grated carrot, and chopped peanuts.

Notes

* I use about two large handfuls of soy curls.  This doesn’t need to be an exact measurement.

** If you do not like mushrooms, simply use another cup of soy curls.

*** You can adjust the spice level by decreasing or increasing the chili garlic sauce or sriracha, depending on your preference.

This recipe was initially adapted from Allrecipes, but has been modified and tweaked quite a bit in the years since I first made this copycat dish at home.