Ingredients

• 1 head butter lettuce
• 2 limes
• 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp white or yellow miso
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 (14- to 16-ounce) block extra-firm tofu
• 3 Tbsp neutral oil, plus more as needed
• Toppings (optional) sesame seeds, sriracha, fresh, herbs, chopped peanuts

Natalie’s Notes

Made 1/4/25 for lunch. Best method I’ve ever tried for crisping up tofu! It really does work. I used romaine boats and it worked well. I topped with sesame seeds, basil, chopped roasted cashews, and lime juice. Wouldn’t alter a thing!

Instructions

1. Pull the leaves off the head of butter lettuce, then wash and dry them. Cut the limes in half.
2. In a medium bowl or jar fitted with a lid, stir or shake together the juice of 1 lime, the soy sauce, 2 Tbsp water, the miso, vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Smash the miso against the side of the bowl if stirring to be sure it incorporates to make a smooth sauce.
3. Warm your largest skillet over medium-high heat. Working over the sink, remove the tofu from the container, pour out the liquid, and reserve the container. Use your hands to break up the tofu into a few pieces and squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can. This won’t be pretty! It’ll break apart into little bits. That’s perfect, you’re doing it right. When you feel like you’ve squeezed all the liquid you can out of the tofu, place it back in the container it came in.
4. Add the oil to the super hot skillet. When it shimmers, add the squeezed, crumbled tofu in an even layer and let it sit, undisturbed, for 3 minutes. Give it a stir, then let it sit for 3 minutes more. It should start to look crispy and golden brown at this point. Keep going with this stir-and-sit pattern once or twice more, adding more oil to the pan as needed, until the tofu is crispy all over. Add the sauce and stir rapidly until it’s all absorbed into the tofu, not even a minute. Turn off the heat.
5. To serve, fill the lettuce leaves with crispy tofu and any toppings you like, including sesame seeds, sriracha, chopped fresh herbs like basil, chopped peanuts, or any combination thereof. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lime over top just before eating.