Dinner with Rukmini

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Crispy Barbecue Tofu Lettuce Wraps with Cashews, Carrots and Nuoc Cham

by Rukmini Iyer from The Green Barbecue

Easy

Serves 4

Total 25min

Prep 15min

Cook 10min

This simple but flavour-packed plant-based barbecue dish combines crispy tofu, fresh lettuce, and crunchy carrot pickle, all served with a Vietnamese-inspired dipping sauce.

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From crispy stir-fries to silky soups

From the book

The Green Barbecue

Rukmini Iyer

The Green Barbecue

A fresh perspective on meat-free summertime meals

With flavour-packed recipes for outdoor and indoor cooking

From hearty vegan burgers to vibrant, refreshing salads

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Introduction

This is a combination I first tried in Vietnam – nuoc cham is such an addictive dipping sauce that it’s tempting to drink it straight up. If you can resist, save some and use it for your crispy tofu instead.

Tags

Ingredients

For the tofu:
280gfirm tofu (I like to use Tofoo)
1lime, zest and juice
1 tbspsoy sauce
1clove of garlic, grated
1 tbspsesame oil
For the carrot pickle:
1medium carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 tbsprice vinegar
1 tspcaster sugar
½ tspsea salt flakes
For the nuoc cham:
1clove of garlic, peeled
1fresh red chilli, roughly chopped
2½cmfresh ginger
1–2 tbspsoy sauce
50mlwater
½lime, zest and juice
To serve:
1small cos lettuce, leaves separated
A handful oftoasted cashews

Essential kit

You will need: a barbecue

Method

Cut the tofu into large cubes, and put them into a bowl with the lime zest and juice, soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil. Mix gently to coat, then cover and set aside.

For the carrot pickle, mix the carrot matchsticks with the rice vinegar, caster sugar and sea salt flakes. Cover and set aside.

To make the nuoc cham, put the garlic, chilli and ginger in a pestle and mortar, and bash into a paste. (Alternatively, grate all the ingredients into a jug.) Add the soy sauce, water, lime zest and juice, and taste. Adjust the amount of soy, water and lime as needed, and set aside.

When your barbecue is good and hot, griddle the marinated tofu for 2–3 minutes per side, until lightly charred and crisp. Scatter with a pinch of sea salt.

Arrange the lettuce cups on a platter and add a spoonful of carrot pickle to each. Divide the crispy tofu between the cups, scatter with the toasted cashews and a drizzle of nuoc cham, and serve the remaining nuoc cham alongside.

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Ingredients
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