Shiitake Eggplant Lettuce Wraps

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A satisfying, refreshing, and delicious meal using mushrooms and eggplant.

Course Lunch

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Servings people

Calories 174

Author Timothy Pakron

Ingredients

10 ounces shiitake mushrooms washed and de-stemmed
1 large J Japanese eggplant peeled
½ stick Country Crock Plant Butter
½ cup diced shallots
3 cloves garlic diced
3 tablespoons minced ginger
8 ounces water chestnuts sliced
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
1 small Thai chili optional
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head bibb lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce

To garnish:

Salted peanuts chopped
1 small red bell pepper de-seeded and thinly sliced
Cilantro chopped
Thai basil chopped
Mint leaves chopped
Fresh lime juice

Instructions

Chop mushrooms and eggplant into small bite-size pieces. In a large skillet, add plant butter and melt over medium-high heat. Once sizzling, add mushrooms and eggplant with a sprinkling of salt. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring halfway through with a wooden spatula until the mixture begins to brown.
Add shallots, garlic, ginger, and chestnuts. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the shallots are soft and tender.
Add mirin to deglaze the bottom of the skillet, scraping the bottom as needed. Add nutritional yeast, tamari, and toasted sesame seed oil (and Thai chili, if using). Mix well and cook for a few more minutes. Give the mixture a taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking. The eggplant should be soft and caramelized. If not, continue to cook on medium heat until it is thoroughly cooked.
Separate the lettuce leaves and stack one to two pieces of bibb lettuce inside a larger piece of iceberg. Fill each lettuce cup with a few tablespoons of the cooked mixture. Sprinkle a hefty amount of chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and mint over top and squeeze fresh lime juice over the wraps to complete the dish. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

If you can't find a Japanese eggplant, you can use a traditional large black one but you'll only need to use half.

If you can't access Thai basil, up the amount of cilantro and mint. Don't skimp on the aromatics- they really make these wraps shine.

Feel free to use romaine or cabbage leaves for these wraps.

If you'd like to bulk the filling up with more texture and protein, add chopped extra firm tofu to the mix of mushrooms and eggplant. I've done this before and it's quite nice!

Nutrition