Vegetable and Tofu Lettuce Wraps with Miso Sambal

Cooking Light, November 2005

This was a perfect veggie dinner after too many heavy meals over the past week or so. I didn't have chili paste or soybean paste, so I made a creation of tomato paste with chili powder and hot sauce, and mashed up a bit of the tofu in the sauce in place of the soybean paste. I think it came out alright though I'm curious what it would taste like with the real ingredients. The recipe says to use the tofu raw or un-altered from the package, but I fried the strips in a little bit of vegetable oil with a few drops of sesame oil.

In this appetizer, the fresh flavors of the vegetables come alive with the spicy, gingery sambal. This popular Indonesian condiment takes on many variations of the basic combination of chiles, brown sugar, and salt. Prepare a double batch, and serve the extra with fish. The creamy texture of the avocado pieces and tofu slices are a pleasant contrast to the crisp vegetables.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 wraps)

Ingredients

Miso sambal:
2 tablespoons chile paste with garlic (such as Sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons white miso (soybean paste)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

Wraps:
1 cup matchstick-cut English cucumber
1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1 (12.3-ounce) package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
1/2 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
12 large Boston lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. To prepare miso sambal, combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth.

2. To prepare wraps, divide cucumber, cilantro, peanuts, tofu, and avocado evenly among lettuce leaves. Drizzle each with about 1 1/2 teaspoons sambal; roll up.