Tofu Salad - Easy Vegan - Make Ahead (Moosewood)

magpie diner's Note:

Courtesy of the original Moosewood Cookbook. Love that you can make it ahead and just pull it out of the fridge at serving time. I'm serving this at a birthday party buffet to make sure there is something substantial for vegetarians/vegans in the group. The book recommends stuffing this salad into pita bread to make it a meal, which I've never tried but sounds great. Prep time includes the minimum 2 hours for marinading. Serves 6 as the main attraction, but more if it's a side dish. Enjoy!

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Marinade

• 4 tablespoons sesame oil
• 5 tablespoons rice vinegar or 5 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or your choice of sweetener)
• 3 tablespoons tamari or 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, to your taste
• 1 dash crushed red pepper flakes, to your taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (optional)

Salad

• 1 lb extra firm tofu, well drained (6 cakes)
• 12 medium mushrooms, left whole
• 1 small carrot, grated (or in matchsticks)
• 1 small bell pepper, finely chopped (any colour except green)

Optional Salad Ingredients

• 1 -2 cup cabbage, shredded (optional)
• 1 -2 shallot, minced (optional)
• fresh mung bean sprouts (optional)

Optional Toppings

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanuts (optional)
• minced fresh cilantro (optional)
• minced fresh parsley (even basil would be nice) (optional)
• 1 fresh tomato, diced (optional)
• sesame seed (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and add it along with the salad veggies into the marinade. Stir gently.
3. Cover and let marinade at room temperature for at least two hours. You can prepare this a few days in advance, in which case just keep it in the fridge.
4. Serve cold or at room temperature, sprinkled with all or some of the toppings.

Reviews

[JanuaryBride]

AMAZING. So happy I found this recipe! I made a half batch, added cabbage and a small shallot, but made the entire amt of marinade. I subbed out stevia for the sugar. Will serve this in pitas for lunch in an hour or so and can't wait! Delish! UPDATE: On day 2 I added some water chestnuts which were awesome in here - totally soaked up the marinade and did it quickly. Very flavorful on day 2, but not as pretty because the brown coloring took over.

[amandaj333]

This recipe is seriously amazing. Dedicated carnivore here and it has made it into our weekly repetoire since we tried it a couple months ago. It's especially good to have a filling, no stove dish now that its summer. I've made it at home, made it at parties, it is now a fave. One tip for tofu prep is to freeze it before using it and then press it for several hours before using to get as much water as possible out. Enjoy!

[Katzen]

Love it! I picked up some organic tofu at the market yesterday specially for this salad. Kept it simple, just using the optional shallots, but plan to top it with sesame seeds and cilantro before packing it off for lunch in the morning. This is so delicious, and will be a regular lunch now! Next time I plan to add the cabbage and mung bean sprouts. Thanks, magpie! Made for PAC Spring 2010 - you were adopted!