THAI BASIL TOFU LETTUCE CUPS

Thai Basil Tofu Lettuce Cups image

Provided by Jeff Mauro, host of Sandwich King

Time 3h15m

Yield 12 servings

Number Of Ingredients 22

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2 red bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons grated ginger
4 packages extra-firm tofu, pressed on a wire rack for at least 1 hour and up to 24
1 tablespoon Asian hot sauce, such as Sriracha
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 1/2 cups Thai basil, chopped
Salt
1/2 cup Thai basil, cut in chiffonade
2 cups cashews, roughly chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
3 heads green leaf lettuce, cleaned and trimmed
Plum sauce, for serving

Steps:

Mix together the bell peppers and rice wine vinegar and marinate for 1 hour and up to a day in the refrigerator.
In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat, add the vegetable and sesame oils. Add the shallots, garlic and ginger and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Add the tofu by crumbling into small pieces and saute for 15 minutes more.
In the meantime, whisk together the hot sauce, salt, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and hoisin and add to the tofu. Cook until the sauce thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the chopped Thai basil. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
To serve, spoon the tofu mixture onto a piece of lettuce and top with the marinated peppers, cashews, scallions, the chiffonade Thai basil and a couple dots of plum sauce. For more heat, add a few drops of hot sauce.