These raw Asian Lettuce Cups are filled with a plant-based walnut filling. A homemade Chinese Hoisin sauce and quick vegan slaw add bold flavor and crunchy texture. The perfect recipe for when you don’t want to turn on the oven!
Vegan-ized PF Chang Lettuce Wraps
This recipe for lettuce wraps is based off a popular dish at PF Chang’s. While the restaurant’s version uses ground chicken for the filling, my plant-based version uses ground walnuts. Coarsely grinding the walnuts gives you a vegan-ized meat-substitute for ground meat. The healthy fats in the walnuts help add satisfying, hearty flavor. Plus, the coarse texture is perfect for absorbing a homemade Chinese Hoisin sauce.
Ground Walnuts as a Whole Foods, Plant-Based Meat Subsitute
You can use this trick for ground walnuts to replace ground meat to create whole foods, plant-based versions of your favorite recipes. I love it for 5-Minute Raw Walnut Mushroom Vegan Tacos. You can also use it as a filling for stuffed peppers. Or, cook with tomato sauce for a delicious Italian Bolognese.
What is Chinese Hoisin Sauce?
Hoisin sauce is a condiment popular in Chinese cooking. Traditionally made from soybean paste, different recipes will include garlic, sesame oil, chilies, and vinegar. Hoisin combines sweet, salty, and umami elements. Also sometimes called Chinese Barbecue sauce, it is used as a marinade, dipping sauce, and is the traditional glaze on Peking Duck.
How to make an Oil-Free, Plant-Based Hoisin
While you can often find Hoisin sauce at Asian supermarkets and online, it can be quite expensive. Making your own is the best way to experience the flavor. Besides using plant-based, whole foods ingredients, the fresh version will taste much more delicious than a jarred version.
There a few main components to a good, homemade Hoisin sauce:
- Salty – This is the most assertive flavor in a traditional Hoisin. Honestly, I find some jarred hoisins to be way too salty – almost like liking a black salt spoon. For my recipe, I downplay the salty flavor. Tamari stands in for salt. However, you can use soy sauce or coconut aminos instead.
- Sweet – Some recipes will use honey or sugar, but this whole foods plant-based recipe uses pitted deglet noor dates. The dates do double-duty to also thicken the sauce so it’s more paste-like.
- Tangy – This comes from the Chinese Five Spice. Chinese Five Spice includes fennel, clove, cinnamon, star anise, and Szechuan pepper. The combination is full of bold, umami flavor
- Pungent – Traditionally, this funky flavor comes from bean paste. For this recipe, a little bit of miso helps add that funky flavor. You could also use another fermented paste like Gochujang.
Dried dates replace sugar and honey for this whole foods, plant-based sauce 
Your hoisin should be thick, kind of like tahini. It makes a delicious glaze for grilled vegetables.
How to use Plant-Based Chinese Hoisin Sauce
Think of Hoisin sauce as Chinese Barbecue sauce. You can use it as a glaze on grilled or roasted vegetables. It is delicious as a sauce of Mini BBQ Lentil Loaves. You can also use it as a sauce for a quick stir-fry, pour it over a Black Forbidden Rice bowl, and use it as a dip for Nori Rainbow Wraps. Or, just use it as a dip for Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges. It will keep in your fridge for up to 10 days. Freeze for longer.
What is Chinese Five Spice?
Chinese Five Spice is a combination of five basic spices: fennel, cinnamon, star anise, clove, and Sichuan peppercorns. Some variations might include cassia (a different variety of cinnamon) or different varieties of pepper (like white pepper). The history of this powder is a little murky, but one theory calls it a “Wonder Powder” that encompasses the five elements (fire, wood, water, earth, and metal).
You can find Chinese Five Spice Powder online, in Asian groceries, or in the spice aisle of many regular grocery stores. You can also make your own.
For more on how to use spices, check out:
Spice Essentials Guide: Chef’s Tips for How to Use Spices for Delicious, Healthy Cooking
Chinese Five spice combines five spices for bold flavor: fennel, cinnamon, clove, star anise, and Szechuan pepper. 
The five spices in Chinese Five Spice create a balance of sweet, spicy, and umami flavor.
Watch this Video to Find out why Nuts are on Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen Checklist:
You’ll Love this Healthy, Plant-Based PF Chang-ed Raw Walnut Asian Lettuce Wraps Pears Recipe! It is:
- Packed with Bold Chinese Flavor!
- Quick and Easy to make
- Refreshing and Light
- Perfect for when you don’t feel like turning on the oven
- Impressive enough for a cocktail party or summer barbecue
Chef Katie’s Healthy, Plant-Based Cooking Tips:
No Refined Sugar or Syrup? I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories. This recipe don’t use any refined sugar, maple syrup, or other refined sweetener. The dates provide plenty of sweetness, along with healthy fiber and essential nutrients
Make Ahead: The Walnut meat, Hoisin, and Slaw can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. When ready to eat, assemble with the lettuce cups and mint just before serving.
Tamari vs. Soy Sauce: Tamari is the gluten-free version of soy sauce. Use it in this recipe to ensure a gluten-free recipe. If gluten isn’t a concern for you, you can use either tamari or soy sauce.
Strictly Raw Version: For a strictly raw version of this recipe, you would need to use only certified-raw ingredients. Tamari is not raw. However, you can use raw coconut aminos instead. If you can’t find a raw miso paste, you can omit this ingredient. In place of the water chestnuts, you can use ¼ cup of fresh sliced radishes.
Walnuts are a whole foods source of heart-healthy Omega-3 fats, fiber, and protein 
Coarsely grind walnuts in a blender or food processor. Use to replace ground beef, turkey, and chicken in plant-based recipes 
Ground walnuts combine with Asian flavors for the filling of these plant-based lettuce wraps. 
Eat your colors! This Asian slaw is also great on veggie burgers! 
Broccoli slaw is made from the stalks of broccoli. It’s a great way to get healthy green veggies in your diet. 
Pre-shredded red cabbage is a great time-saver. Find it in the produce section. Use for wraps, slaw, tacos, and stir-fry 
Water chestnuts are usually found in the Asian foods aisle. They add crunchy texture to salads, sandwiches, and slaw. 
Shredded vegetables make a quick, crunchy slaw
PF Chang-ed Raw Walnut Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Easy
- Ready In: 10 minutes
- Servings: 4
If you like this recipe, you would also love: Black Forbidden Rice Asian Bowl with Tofu and Miso Cashew Sauce, 5-Minute Raw Walnut Mushroom Vegan Tacos, Chinese Double Garlic Broccoli Stir-Fry – Vegan, Plant-Based Recipe, and Five Spice Poached Pears and Figs.
PF Chang-ed Raw Walnut Asian Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Raw Asian Walnut “Meat” Filling
- 1 10-ounce bag raw shelled walnuts (about 2 ½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
Homemade Chinese Hoisin Sauce
- ½ cup pitted dates 100g
- ½ teaspoon Miso paste
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 cups water
- Yield: 1 cup
Crunchy Asian Slaw
- 1 can water chestnuts drained, rinsed, and sliced
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup broccoli slaw
- 3 scallions green tops only, thinly sliced
- + ¼ cup Hoisin
Lettuce
- 1 head Bibb or Butter Lettuce washed and dried
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves cleaned
Instructions
To make the Raw Asian Walnut “Meat” Filling:
- In a blender, place half of the walnuts and all of the ginger. Pulse 1 or 2 times, until roughly chopped. It should resemble coarse, ground meat. Remove and repeat with the remaining walnuts. Combine both batch with the tamari and scallions. Clean out the blender.
- To make the Homemade Chinese Hoisin Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in the blender: pitted dates, miso paste, tamari, rice vinegar, Chinese five-spice powder, smoked paprika, and water. Puree until smooth. The sauce should be quite thick, similar to a thick barbecue sauce. Taste and adjust as needed. If you need more salt, add more coconut aminos. For more spice, add more Chinese five spice, etc.
To make the Crunchy Asian Slaw:
- In a medium bowl combine all of the slaw ingredients: water chestnuts, shredded cabbage, broccoli slaw, scallions, and Hoisin. Combine well, until everything is covered in sauce. You may need to use your hands to do this. You can add more sauce, depending on your tastes.
To assemble the PF Chang-ed Raw Walnut Asian Lettuce Cups:
- Scoop out about ¼ cup of the Raw Asian Walnut Meat into a lettuce leaf. Top with a ¼ cup of the Crunchy Asian Slaw. Add a teaspoon or two of the Hoisin sauce, according to your taste. Top with fresh mint. Repeat with the remaining lettuce, walnut meat, and slaw.
- Enjoy immediately.
Notes
Ready In: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 373 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 27 g | 42 % |
| Saturated Fat 3 g | 13 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 3 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 18 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 731 mg | 30 % |
| Potassium 574 mg | 16 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 33 g | 11 % |
| Dietary Fiber 7 g | 30 % |
| Sugars 20 g | |
| Protein 10 g | 19 % |
| Vitamin A | 33 % |
| Vitamin C | 25 % |
| Calcium | 7 % |
| Iron | 10 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Shopping and Gear List
- The Spice Way Shanghai Chinese Five Spice
- San-J Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce
- Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Deglet Dates
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