Tofu Salad - Easy Vegan - Make Ahead (Moosewood)

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!

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 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 seeds (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.