This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.
Napa Cabbage Wraps – Big, fresh leaves of Napa cabbage heaped with plenty of flavorful tofu are perfect with a side of Quick Sesame Noodles. Supper is served!
Napa Cabbage Wraps
Napa cabbage wraps are a fun spin on more common lettuce wraps. Like lettuce, Napa cabbage is light and crunchy. It has a slightly bitter taste that’s great with this slightly sweet filling.
Serve up your wraps with a side of quick sesame noodles, and you’ve got yourself an easy, healthy meal, my friends!
I have been really into lettuce wraps lately. They’re my new favorite thing to order from our favorite vegan Chinese place, but I don’t make them at home nearly often enough.
These wraps are my spin on that favorite dish.
What is Napa Cabbage?
Napa cabbage – aka Chinese cabbage – is a cruciferous veggie, like kale or bok choy. It grows in a cluster, sort of like bok choy does, but the leaves aren’t as thick, and they’re more tightly clustered together.
It has a nice crunch and a slightly bitter flavor, though not as bitter as red or green cabbage. When you pull off a leaf of Napa cabbage, you’ll see that it’s perfect for piling on tasty tofu filling.
I love the combination of the hot filling with the crunchy, cold Napa cabbage. So nice on a chilly evening! We had them with a side of sesame noodles. Instead of lettuce, these wraps use Napa cabbage, but you could definitely use lettuce instead, if you don’t have Napa cabbage on hand.
How to Make Your Wraps
These Napa cabbage wraps couldn’t be easier to make! Just press, marinate, and pan fry your tofu. Add your mushrooms, and you’re ready to wrap.
Pressing your tofu is super important in this recipe. If you skip pressing you miss out on a good bit of the flavor and texture. Get that water out, so the tofu can soak in that flavorful marinade.
I like to press my tofu in my EZ Tofu Press. You don’t need a gadget to press your tofu, but a proper press helps your tofu keep its uniform shape and get the job done more quickly and easily.
You can save time by making the Easy Sesame Noodles while the tofu is marinating and cooking.
Napa Cabbage Wraps with Easy Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
For the Napa Cabbage Wraps
- 1 block extra firm tofu – pressed and diced into pea-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon potato starch OR cornstarch
- 1 cup baby bella mushrooms – coarsely chopped
- 1 head Napa cabbage
For the Easy Sesame Noodles
- 4 servings udon or soba noodles – prepared according to package directions, then drained. Do not rinse!
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
Make the Napa Cabbage Wraps
- In a large bowl, combine the tofu, rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and oil. Toss to coat, and let the tofu marinate for 15-30 minutes. When the tofu is done marinating, add the cornstarch to your bowl and toss again.
- Heat a large nonstick* frying pan to medium-high heat, and add the tofu and all of the liquid from the bowl. Let the tofu cook, stirring occasionally, until the pieces start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Now, add the mushrooms to your pan and cook for a few minutes more, until the mushrooms soften.
- You’re ready to wrap! Divide the Napa cabbage leaves and the tofu filling between four plates, along with some Sesame Noodles (recipe below). To assemble a wrap, just shovel some of the tofu mixture into the little cabbage cups, fold it up like a tiny taco, and munch away!
Make the Easy Sesame Noodles
- In a large bowl, toss the noodles with all of the other Sesame Noodles ingredients. Serve!
Cadry
This sounds so good! Whenever we go to PF Chang’s, which isn’t often, I like to get their lettuce wraps. I’d love to have them more often. And this is the perfect way to do it – make them myself! Thanks for including the sesame noodles recipe too!
Becky Striepe
I think PF Chang’s was the first place I ever had lettuce wraps!
Dianne
I’m with you – I love lettuce wraps but I don’t make them nearly as much as I should. I love that you used napa cabbage in this recipe!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Dianne! With the romaine recalls that seem to keep popping up, I’m afraid to do lettuce!